Silver Wings
by Len-kun121958
Summary: A day class student is found dying in the woods by the night class. A battle that has been brewing since the dawn of the Kiryu Clan finally comes to the surface. A dangerous being finally reaches the academy but the fighting didn't begin there. Secrets uncovered and a defeat ending a life. Who bears the silver wings, who will survive? - I don't own VK -
1. Ch 1: The Casualty

**A/N: **Hello hello everyone! If you haven't read the title of this story or you didn't participate/read about what I did with my VK-in progress series this is the story I decided to move forward with as of now. It was number five of my first chapter and I got some really great reviews.

If you are completely new to my stories and way of writing hello and pleased to meet you! I predominantly write Vampire Knight fanfics although I have a few other fandoms mixed in and fandoms I've simply yet to start uploading (hint hint it's coming soon y'all!). I coin myself a pretty versatile writer when it comes to the types of fics I write overall but I do gravitate towards more intensive, mind-fuck, gay but not necessarily pairing centric, LONG fics. You either get a one-shot or 14 chapters without a lot of in-between. If that's not your thing I get it and good luck finding stuff more suited for you.

If you are returning welcome back! It's a new story holy shit! I'm still glowing from the reviews you guys have given me for both Sayo and Actor which are becoming the more popular fics from me and I'm excited to share this one with you all too. Here's the thing, **the pairing isn't decided yet!** I haven't decided if it should even have a pairing or if I should switch things up even more, maybe have Zero paired with Kain again since I was asked to write more KainRo stories, should I stick with Kaname? Move onto the other night class members or Kaito or Yuuki? I really don't know so please leave your suggestions for me if you have any! As usual, I'll give you warnings, updates, and briefs before every chapter in my author's note sections so it is helpful if you read them but I know they can get lengthy. I will do my best to cut them down after this one. I don't have an estimate on how long this fiction will be yet because I really don't have a ton planned out. We're on this journey together y'all. I hope you enjoy this first (short) chapter again please leave reviews, comments, helpful criticisms etc. I want to hear it all. Hope you enjoy!

~Len-kun

**Silver Wings**

Blood hit his nose with a burn as he patrolled the campus of Cross Academy, someone was injured, a student of the night class? Not likely, that left either a wandering person, a low leveled vampire, a hunter who had their aura suppressed, or someone from the day class. None of those were favorable options but as a guardian of the school and a hunter he had to go check it out. Moving from his normal route Kiryu Zero headed towards the woods behind the moon dorms. As he got closer to the source of the smell, Zero quickly realized that the resident pureblood vampire and his group of nobles were already there. 'Annoying.' He thought but soon his mind was taken over by focusing on the injured. The vampires were there but not moving closer to the being, meaning it either had to be a hunter or a human. That could be a problem. Picking up his pace Zero found himself standing in front of a group of vampires circled around a badly beat up day class student. She was surrounded by hunter charms preventing the vampires from getting any closer.

"Kiryu-kun." Kaname announced his presence, the nobles parted way for him and Zero roamed the charms with his eyes before taking out a small silver knife.

"You're not going to immediately accuse us of attacking a day class student and get us kicked out of the school? I'm shocked." Aido sneered as Zero knelt to the ground and placed the knife parallel to the girl. Zero rolled his eyes slightly.

"Only a rookie would be so stupid, a vampire like you couldn't place these charms, and her wounds are obviously done by someone who wields charmed weapons and magic. Not vampiric nature. So why don't you tell me everything you know." came the answer though his focus was mainly taken by the victim of the attack not the nobles.

"We found her like this not long ago, suggesting she hasn't been here more than fifteen minutes. We thought she was most likely trying to get pictures of us or something but there's no evidence on her of that." Takuma stepped in to inform the elite hunter. Zero simply nodded and mumbled something the others couldn't understand before the barriers broke and he picked up the girl's wrist. On it, a symbol had been engraved into her skin. A clear message to those who could understand what it meant Takuma assumed when Zero's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"What is that?" Kain questioned this time though he wasn't sure Zero had heard him. The other seemed to be highly focused on something.

"It's a crest, the crest of a group of rogues I didn't think we'd have to deal with so soon." the silverette replied with a slight sigh as he picked the girl up, checked to make sure she could live through the journey to the Sun Dorm infirmary, and stood with her carefully in his arms. "You should head back to the dorms, night class, we'll take care of this soon but until then do alert the Headmaster if there are any more incidents." he added before taking off to the Sun Dorms without looking back.

'Rogues? But I why would they come here and attack a day class students no less...that doesn't make sense.' Kaname thought with narrowed eyes. 'Kiryuu-kun knows more than what he is telling me.' the pureblood concluded with a sigh of irritation. Getting information from the boy was like pulling teeth.

Cross Kaien stared at Zero as though he had grown another head when the boy told him one of the day class students had been attacked by a hunter. "Do you know who it was?" he questioned upon being taken to the infirmary where the girl had been taken and was currently getting treatment.

"I do. There's only one clan that has this crest, and the carving of it into her skin only confirms my suspicions." Zero answered after he thoroughly erased the girl's memories of the attack.

"And who would that be?" Kaien pressed, he had a feeling the attack had nothing to do with something personal towards the girl herself. He figured it was more to gain the attention of the silver-haired hunter and she had been a convenient victim.

"The sole surviving of the Usaki family, Usaki Iori." Zero growled back, he would kill that bastard gladly for playing such a dangerous game.

"That asshole that's been after you since the literal beginning of time?" Kaito questioned from the wall, he had woken up conveniently as the conversation started.

"Someone has been threatening you?" Cross questioned growing deadly serious.

"Wait you mean you don't know, Cross-san?" Kaito raised an eyebrow before flicking his eyes towards the silverette in the room.

"No, I was never told of such a problem, how long has this been going on?" the headmaster questioned glancing over at Zero.

"I don't know for sure, I suppose ever since I met Iori. We were in a similar situation, both the last living members of our family lines and the older siblings of younger brothers though Iori wasn't a twin. Our clans never got along however, we ended up in war and though the Kiryuu blood is superior in terms of fighting we only won by a small margin. We ended up all but killing off everyone in their clan. They've held grudges ever since and since I've been alive, even more so when my parents were killed, Iori has gone out of his way to start fights." Zero sighed, he didn't particularly wish to think about the situation that would eventually need to be dealt with but apparently it couldn't be helped.

"But this is the first time someone else has gotten hurt because of his hatred." Kaito pointed out. Zero nodded slightly and leaned against the window.

"So it was deliberately to catch your attention and tell you something." Kaien sighed with Zero once again nodding.

"It was a warning, telling me that he's coming to Cross and he'll be expecting a fight sooner or later." the silverette explained with an annoyed tone.

"You really think a fight is going to make him stop after all this time?" Kaito inquired clearly not believing that was possible.

"A fight like the one he's looking for? Yes it will. It's going to end the fighting between our clans and for one of us it's going to end everything." the younger hunter answered leaving the room in a long shock-induced pause. As the words finally sunk in, as well as the following implications, there was a flurry of words from the older two males.

"You can't seriously be thinking about a fight to kill each other, Zero that would be terrible!" Cross started out as he came out of his stupor.

"That's nuts! He's an obsessive idiot but fighting cannot be a good way to go about this. Zero, think a bit here." Kaito agreed but the look in his friend's eyes told him it wasn't going to change his mind.

"I have, it's been a possibility since the beginning and we knew that. I can't avoid him forever, and now he is hurting others. I'm not just going to sit here and let this continue when other lives are at risk." Zero argued back as he looked between his best friend, and partner, and his caretaker. Neither of them were happy about it, if he was in their shoes he wouldn't be either, but they weren't going to change his mind. This had to be done.

"Do you know when he plans to come?" Kaien asked with a tired sigh.

"No, but I'm sure we'll know when he gets here." Zero responded as he moved from his rooted spot and walked out of the infirmary. 'I don't know what Iori's full abilities are, compared to the damage I remember reading about this attack was benign. He could have killed her. Why didn't he?' the perfect was so lost in thought as he walked the path to the stabled he didn't notice Cross Yuuki walk up behind him until her voice sounded, quite loudly, to his immediate right. With a small start, he looked over into the Cross girl's unhappy eyes.

"Zero! I've been calling your name for like five minutes! What's wrong with you tonight?" her voice going from annoyed to concerned in a heartbeat. Something Zero always liked about her, she was a little sister to him but she still tried to take on a motherly approach to his well being.

'Something she got from Cross no doubt.' the seasoned hunter mused to himself. "I'm fine, there was an incident tonight with a day class student I'm mulling over." he eventually responded to the impatient perfect. He didn't want to give away his current dilemma but she would forever hound him for a reason to his spacing out. Being out of focus wasn't something ever associated with Kiryuu Zero.

"You know Zero, it's not that complicated. The day class girls fawn over you as much as they do the night class...they just don't approach you like they do Aido-senpai and the others. So! Who confessed to you? I bet it's a girl in our first period, isn't it? You know you're going to have to bring her to Cross' place for dinner. He's going to want to know everything." Yuuki rambled on to a spaced-out Zero until he caught a few choice words that didn't add up.

"Confess? What are you talking about, a girl got injured and-" before he could continue Yuuki cut him off deadly serious.

"What happened to her, you know if you bite a day class st-" Zero cut her off with a hard glare that told her much more than words would have.

"If you would let me _finish._ The girl was hurt by a rogue hunter, she's in the infirmary now and I'm trying to figure out the best way to address the situation." he nearly growled at the girl for implying he would have lost control of his vampiric nature and hurt a student. Something he'd kill himself over if it ever happened so he vowed to himself.

"Oh...I see, does Kaname-senpai know about it already?" the smaller perfect questioned hoping to ease her adoptive brother's glare.

"Yes, he and the night class found her, however he's likely not pleased about the lacking information around the situation. Something he'll have to live and deal with. You should be more careful now too. Hunters aren't going to be scared off by a girl in a day class uniform even if she has a hunter weapon on her. Stay out of trouble and let me take all your secluded patrol routes until we have this cleared up completely. This isn't a negotiable topic. I know who we're dealing with and you don't. Period." though the heir to the Kiryuu clan name didn't enjoy working alongside vampires if anyone else had found the girl it would have been the start of a mass panic through the school. To his immense relief Yuuki didn't argue and just accepted that he knew what he was doing and he did, to an extent. He couldn't tell Yuuki everything but he knew how to keep her out of harm's way. As was his duty according to a certain vampire prince whose presence neared Zero's location as soon as he sent Yuuki back to Cross and the perfect's quarters.

"You realize that by associating yourself with her you only serve to endanger her above a random day class student don't you?" Kaname's voice greeted his ears, cold and calculating. Much like that of Zero's once sensei, Yagari Touga, that taught the night class alongside working as a professional elite hunter.

"Don't worry, I don't plan on letting her, or any other student, become a victim to the ways of someone that tarnishes the name of the hunter society as a whole." Zero responded without turning to face the vampire, he would never willingly allow the brunette to see his slightly unfocused emotions that ran through guarded eyes.

"And just how do you plan to do that? Even as a Kiryuu you have your limits when it comes to dealing with other hunters considering their weapons will work on you much better than even a day class human." the pureblood pointed out, mentioning the hunter's vampire status was simply to get him worked up and angry. Zero knew that tactic well but he refused to give in to it this time. Instead, he sealed his thoughts and steeled his eyes before turning to the night class president.

"Yuuki will not be in a path of danger. I stand by what I said Kuran. If you'll excuse me, I have things to do." respect was something needing to be earned in Zero's eyes, hence why Kuran wasn't given any before the hunter started to walk off continuing to the stables.

'Then I suppose I need to talk to Cross if I want more information on what's happening around here.' the brunette told himself before heading to the sun dorms. A place he normally wouldn't willingly go to with it being so close to day class hours, but this was for Yuuki's sake. He had no time to be selfish about his dislike for day class girls.

Upon his arrival to the door of the headmaster's office, an infuriated Touga threw open the door before the vampire could read for the handle. The glare that was shot at him would have made most creatures leave at least a ten-foot radius between themselves and the veteran hunter, however to Kaname it only confirmed his suspicions that Zero was heading into something much larger than he was planning on letting anyone else know. As the beings passed one another Kaname could feel the hunter's magic sparking against his aura even breaking to his skin. Slipping into the room before the doors shut Kaname had the slight urge to rub his arm form the lingering feeling of magic but of course he resisted. Instead, he followed the hushed voices of Takamiya Kaito and headmaster Cross until he found who he was looking for. Without so much as a warning, Kaname announced his presence to the room giving Cross a look that demanded answers from the older ex-hunter. "I told you he'd show up sooner or later." Kaito clicked his tongue in irritation giving the vampire prince an annoyed look, Kaname could tell both he and Cross were tired and worried. He didn't think it would take much to break them down to get answers but it would come at a price for sure.

"Kaname-kun, pleasure to see you this evening. I assume you are here concerning the recent events with a rogue hunter that attacked one of the day class students." Kaien was polite but his usual childish demeanor was gone, replaced by someone fare more tired and serious.


	2. Ch 2: The Puppeteer

**A/N: **Hello hello it's been a while ( a really long while) and I apologize for updating so late. Recently I've been working two jobs and going to school full time so my time to write is currently very limited. I'm hoping after this chapter I'll be able to schedule out my time for working on this story better so I can update sooner but for right now I can't give anyone any promises. As I said, two jobs and fulltime school takes up a good 95% of my life and I still need to keep myself healthy and my household standing. So thank you all for your patience with me. I'd also like to note that a big reason it takes me so long to update is that I really want to make excellent work for you. I don't like half-assed writing, I don't like mistakes and even though there will probably always be some I don't catch (since I don't have a beta reader) I want to make it as good as I possibly can before I upload it to any website since it's my name and my reputation that I need to uphold.

Now for the logistics of this chapter. Most everyone that's responded to my request on the last chapter of dropping your favorite pairing has asked for a KaZe or ZeKa pairing which I think is totally fine. As you may have noticed that's mostly what I write. That being said, I am NOT declaring a specific pairing at this moment and the reason behind that is I just don't have enough written out for me to feel really confident in any of Zero's current relationships when it comes to romance. What I CAN promise is that it won't be a pairing including Yuki because I'm not a fan of her character. There will be Yuki bashing as is fairly normal and once again like in Actor there will be a few brother-like and parental-like relationships between Zero and a few of the characters that aren't just Touga and Kaien. Now that I've stopped blabbing let's get into the chapter. Enjoy!

*_brief recap so the beginning makes sense*_

_Upon his arrival to the door of the headmaster's office, an infuriated Touga threw open the door before the vampire could read for the handle. The glare that was shot at him would have made most creatures leave at least a ten-foot radius between themselves and the veteran hunter, however to Kaname it only confirmed his suspicions that Zero was heading into something much larger than he was planning on letting anyone else know. As the beings passed one another Kaname could feel the hunter's magic sparking against his aura even breaking to his skin. Slipping into the room before the doors shut Kaname had the slight urge to rub his arm form the lingering feeling of magic but of course he resisted. Instead, he followed the hushed voices of Takamiya Kaito and headmaster Cross until he found who he was looking for. Without so much as a warning, Kaname announced his presence to the room giving Cross a look that demanded answers from the older ex-hunter. "I told you he'd show up sooner or later." Kaito clicked his tongue in irritation giving the vampire prince an annoyed look, Kaname could tell both he and Cross were tired and worried. He didn't think it would take much to break them down to get answers but it would come at a price for sure. _

_"__Kaname-kun, a pleasure to see you this evening. I assume you are here concerning the recent events with a rogue hunter that attacked one of the day class students." Kaien was polite but his usual childish demeanor was gone, replaced by someone fare more tired and serious._

The Puppeteer

"Less so about the event itself, but I would like to know what exactly is going to be done about this. If enough time passes another student may become compromised. If it is one of the nobles the Council and myself will have to take charge." he was attempting to remain aware of Cross' state, but there was far too much on the line to simply take anything as an answer or solution.

"Damn vampire coming in here like he owns the place...tsk, all you bloodsuckers are the same. You only do what benefits you and you think about yourself first because the rest of us are lowly fucking scum right?!" Kaito flared up at the pureblood vampire. He knew well how Kuran toyed and played Zero for his benefit, now the silverette's life was on the line and all he cared to do was save his own ass and threaten the hunters with the idea of Council interference. Before Kaname had the chance to respond Kaito shoved his way past Cross and slammed the door leading to his personal room.

"You'll have to forgive him Kaname-kun, I believe he is still reeling from the news we were told earlier this evening and he is frustrated that there's nothing any of us can do about it. Much like Touga, worry and fear tend to only be shown through a vessel of anger. Please, sit down and we will talk." Kaien sighed, he understood where Kaito and Touga both were coming from, he too was worried as any parent would be.

"And what news would that be?" While he didn't intend to forgive the hunter for his actions it would be immature of him to lash out. Instead, he would use Kaito's behavior to get more information out of Cross.

"The threat coming to the academy has a name, it's a single hunter and he's far less of a threat to the school than he is to one particular student here." The ex-hunter began with a sigh that made it seem as though he visibly aged ten years before Kaname's eyes. "Zero plans to deal with him on his own, apparently the two have a long history." Cross added on.

"And you don't believe you should step in?" Kaname pressed further, even if there was the target there could still be collateral damage to other students.

"He won't let us, anyone, interfere with this. That goes for you as well, Kaname. This time we need to trust Zero on what he is doing, otherwise we risk endangering him even more." Kaien pointedly stated. Kaname was not one to stand by and let matters like this go. But Cross knew Zero needed to do this alone, his pride, his reputation and much more would suffer if there was someone else pulling the strings.

"He is facing a hunter, have you forgotten he is a level D vampire?" The pureblood voiced only to be met with silently raging eyes.

"He is a hunter first. And one of the best ones left in this country. I trust Zero to handle himself. He is not a raging child anymore Kaname, perhaps it is time you noticed more than just his vampire status. This is Zero's fight, not your chess game." The room fell silent as the two men stared at each other waiting for something to happen. Kaien rarely let his anger be seen by others but Zero was his son, Kaname was a student. If he could help it, he wouldn't allow the vampire to interfere with the situation at hand. He was a hunter long past his prime but influence and his word could still end up as law. "My son's life is in danger and there's nothing I can do, but I will protect him as best I can." The man spoke again eventually with more emotion than Kaname had ever seen storming in his eyes. Not feeling is was his place to oppose the emotional tsunami waiting to pour out of Cross, the vampire prince nodded.

"I will respect your wishes." He voiced before giving the ex-hunter a nod and making his leave. As the door clicked shut Cross sank in his chair.

'Kami, whatever happens, please don't let this turn into a bloodbath.' He prayed. He could still hear the voices of Zero's parents sometimes, asking him to protect their children should something happen to them. Three children were put into Cross' care, though one openly chose a different path, Ichiru was gone and Zero was on the verge of joining more than once. According to him, parenting was something he clearly wasn't cut out to do.

Takuma was the first to be notified about a sudden immediate meeting Kaname ordered his inner circle to attend. "What in Kami are we going to discuss in the middle of the day." The sleepy blond whispered to no one as he made his way to the bathroom. After he woke Shiki and knocked on the door to Aido and Kain's room the two made their way to the pureblood's study.

"Kaname-sama." They chorused upon entering. Eventually they were joined by the rest of the small circle, with the exception of Seiren, and the group stood at attention waiting for their lord to speak.

"Due to the information I received from Cross about the rogue hunter attack I have a task for all of you." He started off but continued before anyone spoke. "Seiren is off collecting information on this rogue hunter, once she returns Takuma and Shiki I want you to go to Kiryuu and find out what the connection is between them. Aido, Kain, I want you to keep tabs on Yuuki. She is associated with Kiryuu and may become a target. Rima and Ruka, keep an eye on Cross. He doesn't want anyone to interfere and if he gets word of the night class doing anything there will be trouble. This goes for Touga and Kaito as well. That's all for now, I expect a decent report from all of you by the end of the week." Kaname ordered out to his nobles.

"Yes Kaname-sama." Came the chorused response before they were dismissed back to their rooms.

'Even if I am not playing Zero this time, it is still a game Cross-san.' The prince mused in his own chambers. As long as there was potential danger at the academy Kaname would be pulling strings.

"Do you really think he'll just talk? I mean it doesn't seem like an issue we should get involved in..." Shiki mumbled looking over the reports Seiren had given them early following morning.

"I believe Kiryuu-kun made it clear he doesn't wish for any of this to go public. We will be lucky if he doesn't kick us out immediately." Takuma sighed, of all the tasks Kaname had handed out, this one seemed to be the least thought out. Zero wasn't one to ask for help even when he truly needed it, much less likely was he going to inform vampires of his history with this hunter, Usaki Iori. "But we can't go against what Kaname requested, let's just hope we come away with something to report on." Usually he was optimistic at least if not positive he could complete Kaname's tasks, but when it came to Zero or anything surrounding the boy things got complicated.

"You can't be serious, how many of you are going to stick your fangs in something you know nothing about?!" Kaito barked at the nobles from the doorway.

"Kaname-sama asked us to-" Takuma started but was cut off when a sword tip reached his throat. 'If I was a normal vampire I wouldn't have been able to see his draw. Takamiya-kun must be quite worried about the situation. He doesn't want anyone getting close to Kiryuu-kun right now.' Before the blond could say anything however Shiki, to the surprise of the other two, stepped in.

"Because Zero's life is in danger. That's why we're here. Hunter or not he is still under Kuran protection. Let us through to see him." Takuma blinked at his normally stoic friend. It was unlike Shiki to lie his way into a situation, but he supposed if Kaito believed it they would be in the clear of the hunter's wrath at least.

"Fine. But if you vampires endanger him more, consider yourselves dead." The hunter closed his eyes and sheathed his sword once again before walking off in the direction of the gates. Takuma sighed and gave Shiki a smile, that wasn't returned with more than a blank stare and slight nod, as the two passed through the sun dorms to Zero's room.

**A/N:** It's been a long time since I updated and I'm honestly sorry about that, I do plan to update regularly from now on I just can't give a specific time frame this time. I do hope you all enjoy this chapter, even though it's not as long as I would have hoped and it took a literal month for me to get out. Unfortunately, and if you were with me while in the middle of writing 'Actor' or 'Not Yet' you probably noticed this, I have a bad habit of my first few updates of a new story going depressingly slow. It will stop I promise, I rarely abandon a story and I like the possibilities this one has, but I ask you to be patient with me for the first few chapters until this thing really gets rolling. Once again thank you, for sticking with me and I hope to see you again soon! Again, your reviews and comments are greatly appreciated, I will respond to all the questions or suggestions I can via private message or review replies as long as you're not in a guest account because I can't reply to those.


	3. Ch 3: A Wolf in the Hunter's Lair

**A/N: **Coming at you with another chapter! I don't have any warnings for this one but things are starting to get a little more interesting when it comes to the association affairs. As for Kaname, he's going to remain something of a world-class-ass for at least another chapter or two. In this chapter, there will be more interactions between Zero and some OC hunters as well as Touga and Kaito of course to fully establish the kind of relationships Zero has in and around the hunter circle. I also want to involve some of the vampires in what I'm going to consider Zero's 'safe circle' so to speak, I usually go with Takuma (as seen in Actor) or Kain since they're the easiest vampires to fill that role but I think I want to go in a different direction with this story to kind of challenge how well I can portray these characters in situations they wouldn't normally be found in. Anyway, you'll begin to see who all Zero's friend group ends up involving a little later. With that being said, it doesn't mean a romantic relationship will be established with any of them at this point since I still don't know where I'm going to put all that building yet. Regardless, I hope you enjoy this chapter and I'll see you all again as soon as I can! ~Len

Ch. 3: A Wolf in the Hunter's Lair

Takuma didn't get a chance to knock on the silverette's door before it swung open revealing a semi-annoyed looking hunter. "Do you need something?" He asked though he sounded more tired than actually angry at the pair. Takuma held up the report and smiled.

"May we find a place to talk for a moment?" Zero took a glance at the papers the blond held before turning back into his room though he left the door open for the nobles.

"It'll have to be short." He voiced once the two made themselves comfortable on a small couch in the corner of the boy's room. Much to Takuma's surprise Zero's room was much more spacious and nicely organized than he would have expected due to his usually busy schedule.

'I suppose a clean space brings him comfort in a normally chaotic life. Zero is simple, not a lot clutters his space and yet I feel more at home than in the moon dorms. How does he manage that?' The noble pondered, momentarily forgetting the reason they were even there until Zero spoke again.

"So this report on Iori was brought to Kuran I assume?" He asked looking over each paper carefully.

"Not yet, after we're done we are supposed to drop by Kaname's and give him a detailed report." Takuma answered truthfully. Even though it was clear Zero didn't want to dive into the subject of Kaname's involvement it was better to be honest with him than have him find out later on. 'I'd rather be ignored now over being shot at later.' He thought.

"There are some minor details in here that are incorrect. Iori's clan was more than just powerful and influential in the beginning of the Hunter's Association, had it not been for a few unpromising ideas and messed up views they could have taken control of the association leadership. My clan was simply more powerful and far more liked among the population." Zero eventually voiced before walking over to his desk and opening a drawer usually locked with a charm.

"You're saying the association gathered information on the Usaki Clan incorrectly?" Takuma wondered aloud with a slightly confused tone. He thought hunters were better at keeping tabs on their own people.

"No, unfortunately it's almost the complete opposite. The hunters gathering information did exactly as they were told. It was the higher-ups that didn't want to delve into the family history, these incorrect paragraphs mean someone tampered with the original documents." The hunter concluded pulling out a small flashlight looking cylinder from a bottom compartment in the drawer.

"Someone still working in the association?" Shiki asked as the nobles watched Zero dress for what seemed to be a casual outing.

"It's definitely someone on the inside, I don't know if they are directly related to Iori or if they were anonymously hired. You can assure Kaname their identity won't stay a secret for much longer though. We have our corrupt beings but we do a fair job of handling our own which is why I won't be needing vampire assistance, that being said I do thank you. Because of your snooping we could be learning of new problems that are to arise in the association. Send my regards to Kuran, and tell him to keep his fangs out of hunter business. Otherwise they might get forcefully dislodged." The almost innocent smile Zero shot at the two before leaving the nobles sitting on the couch as he jumped out his window was, arguably, much more intimidating than his glares.

"I suppose we should report back to Kaname." Takuma mumbled though part of him was still in semi-shock. Shiki nodded silently despite that neither vampire moved from their seated position staring out the window Zero had left through.

The door swung open and slammed against the wall causing Kaito to jump, gun in hand, and Touga to look up from his paperwork. "Shit Zero, how about a casual announcement for once." The teacher in training grumbled as he put down his gun again.

"No time for that, we need to head to the association. The Usaki Clan's documents need to be checked immediately." He explained looking over at Touga. The seasoned elite hunter took a slow drag from his cigarette and eyed Zero suspiciously.

"Why." He wasn't inquiring, he was demanding information and Zero had long learned to give the one-eyed hunter what he wanted.

"The records have been tampered with, by someone in the association, it looks as though they were told to re-write some of the history. From what I was given it's pretty small facts but it means we have a mole working for Iori, if he has support in the association still I could be looking at an ambush instead of a one on one fight Like I originally thought. We need to find out who and why, before anything happens." The silverette stressed though he didn't show signs that he was worried. Zero was angry and when Zero was angry someone was going to end up at gunpoint.

"Who are you going to speak to? Most people don't even know Iori is still active much less targeting you. If they learn more hunters might support Iori because they want to get rid of you." Kaito pointed out on the mostly silent car ride to the association.

"There are still supporters of my family in greater numbers than those who hate my name. But I agree with you, I have enemies and I'd rather not give them any ideas right now. I will talk to Hatoshi Shia, the record keeper that my parents trusted immensely even though our official documents do not reside in the association. She is the most knowledgeable of the underground workings between the hunters of lesser status in their clans. One of them is most likely to be in support of Iori, or dumb enough to do his bidding." Zero explained as the car came to a stop and the three hunters walked up to the guarded gate.

"What brings you here Zero-san? A mission report?" One of the young hunters asked, Zero rarely came to the association in person unless there was an important meeting with the Chairman.

"No, I'm here for the archives."The silverette was direct and guarded as the trio walked and caught the eyes of every passing hunter there. Some of the disgusted looks he received Zero could remember seeing when he was brought into the building for the first time to officially sign with the Chairman. 'Things here hardly ever change.' He thought giving a curt nod to the hunters that respected him along the way. When he was a child Touga was the one to get the nods of respect as he followed the tall man through the halls of people that looked like they wanted to eat him alive. 'Ironic.' He mused to himself.

"Zero-sama, a pleasure to see you again, what can I help you with today?" Hiroshi Shia, a woman that looked as though she never aged past her twenties, greeted with a bow and a smile. If Zero was ill knowledged of her impeccable close range shooting he would hardly think her a threat.

"Shia-san, I need to know something very important that must not breach these walls once I leave." Zero was serious but regarded her with respect in his tone. Much different from the children at the gate, there was a softness that came through not often heard. Shia gave Zero a once-over and frowned with worry swimming through amber eyes.

"You are in danger, Zero-sama." She stated before motioning for the boys to follow her to a small lone section of the basement.

"Do you know who?" Kaito stepped in once they had stopped to talk.

"Usaki Iori doesn't have many supporters left and hasn't been seen around the association grounds, however a newer hunter has been acting suspicious lately. She came down here and asked to see the Usaki Clan documents a few days ago. It is clear to me now she is working with Usaki Iori, but it is unknown if she would attack you outright." Shia disclosed in a hushed tone.

"What is her name Shia-san." Touga growled out, his eye narrowed dangerously. He wasn't once to touch a fellow hunter in a harmful way, usually, but this was an exception to the rules.

"Her name is Gaashi, she appeared out of the blue one evening proclaiming she was a hunter from another area and wished to sign with the official headquarters to start working. I would be wary of her Zero-sama, I believe she does quite dirty work behind the scenes." Shia explained hastily. Zero nodded his thanks before the trio left to head back to the academy. As they walked back to their car Zero felt a pair of burning eyes on him and stopped in his tracks to look over into the woods nearby, a pair of searing muddy brown eyes glared back before disappearing.

"Hey Zero, why did you stop?" Kaito's voice sounded next to him with Touga staring at him from ahead of the two.

"I'm being hunted." Was all the silverette said before he kept walking and they made it to the car at last.

"She was watching us?" Kaito questioned glancing out the car window. Zero nodded and paused for a moment.

"Yes, it was only her so I doubt any more hunters are involved with Iori. But even if it's just her there could be issues. If she is stalking me I can't return to the academy." He spoke again shooting a look at his former sensei.

"I agree, we'll take you to your family's safe house. Kaito will stay with you there until it is safer for you and we know what is going on with this girl accomplice." Touga answered with a tone that neither Zero or Kaito would argue against. "I will tell Cross what had been arranged and bring you both your things." The younger hunters nodded as a sharp turn was made and the car sped off in the opposite direction of the academy.

'They always did say I would become the hunter that was hunted, now that applies to my situation literally and all I can do for now is hide to keep the academy safer.' Zero mentally sighed as he watched the scenery go by in a blur of colors out the window.

Kaname waited as his inner circle of nobles finished filing into his study. Seiren, Takuma and Shiki had been there when Kaname called the others for a meeting to give him their progress updates of the assigned tasks. Takuma had explained how the documents had apparently been over-written recently and Zero gave them corrections on a few paragraphs. "I see, he believes there are more hunters working alongside Usaki Iori then?" The pureblood prince questioned the blond.

"He seemed to only talk about there being once other but ultimately yes, that is the concern." Came the answer.

"He left for the association after we were done talking, I assume he took Kaito-kun and Yagari-sensei with him." Shiki added on quietly.

"I see, and how are the rest of you doing." Kaname looked over at Aido and Kain silently requesting one of them to speak.

"Yuuki-chan is oblivious to Zero's movements or anything else potentially going on. No threats or unfamiliar auras have been detected near the sun dorms or any of her patrol routes." Kain stated without any emotion in his tone. Kaname nodded his approval before turning to the girls.

"Headmaster Cross is agitated and worried most of the day, he hasn't been alerted of any vampire movement at this time." Ruka reported.

"Let us keep it that way, I assume the hunters will be back soon. When Zero is alone Takuma I want to know what Iori is planning and who this other hunter is. If they pose a threat I want them eliminated." Kaname ordered as the group heard the car pull up to the gates.

"Neither Zero nor Kaito came back, Yagari-sensei is headed to the sun dorms alone and the car is waiting. I assume that means he'll be leaving again soon." Aido pointed out after watching out the window.

"Is it likely they stayed at the association?" Rima asked looking at the pureblood.

"No, it is no less dangerous for Zero there than here at the school. Seiren, spy on Touga-san and Cross. Report back to me immediately." Kaname ordered without a glance to the vampire in the corner. 'You can't hide from me Kiryuu Zero.' He thought with narrowed eyes.

'Of course Kaname-sama sends her to do all the useful tasks. Seiren would never be put in charge of watching little miss oblivious.' Aido grumbled in his head. Not that he wouldn't do anything his prince requested of him but Yuuki was about as useful as a crippled fledgling. How his lord protected someone so dumb was beyond him.

The group watched from Kaname's study as Touga walked back out to the car, Cross in tow, with what Aido remembered to be the hunter's suitcases. Cross also carried a pair he assumed belonged to Kaito. 'So they really are keeping Kiryuu somewhere else.' He thought as Seiren appeared back in the room and stood at Kaname's desk.

"There is another hunter they are worried about named Gaashi. She is working with Usaki Iori and was responsible for the change in the documents. Apparently she was stalking Kiryuu-kun and the association so it was decided he would be moved temporarily to a safe house with Takamiya-kun as his guard until a further plan has been developed." She explained before going silent and disappearing back into the shadows.

"I see. Takuma and Shiki I want you to take over the protection of Yuuki. The rest of you will find Zero and Kaito by any means necessary. Do not get caught by Touga or Cross, you have two days for at least one of you to find them, the rest of you will report back to the academy at the end of the second day. Whoever finds them will wait for further instructions from me." Kaname spoke after a brief pause.

"Yes Kaname-sama." Came the expected chorus before the nobles left once again.

'You are a silver wolf Kiryuu-kun, you don't fully belong anywhere and someone is always at your heels. I will capture you and you will accept me as your leader one of these days. If I have to protect you once to gain that trust then so be it. You will be my wolf in the end.' Wine eyes stared out the window into to vast forest before the academy. He would keep watch until his priceless knight was found. He still needed Zero, for Yuuki's sake.

**A/N: **I hope this chapter isn't too terrible for how short it is, and thank you to everyone that has followed/favorited etc. and to those still reading even though my updates aren't the fastest on the market. Hopefully, I'll have another chapter out to you all by the end of the month although my schedule from now until the second or third week of June is pretty busy. Thank you all again, your support means a lot to me, coming up in the story we'll see who finds Zero and Kaito and more about Gaashi. Hope you all have a wonderful day/evening and see you soon! ~Len


	4. Ch 4: Dead or Alive, I'll Find You

**A/N:** Helloooo I'm so so sorry this took me way longer to get out than I originally thought. Right now I'm in the middle of finals week for not one but two colleges (really it should be criminal to be under this much stress on so little sleep T.T) so this fic had to be put off until I had a fair amount of time to really get some good ideas flowing and a good quality chapter to you all. With that being said, I'm happy with how this turned out despite all my obligations going on, we have some relationships developing and we learn a little more about Gaashi and what her deal is. Plus there's some drama and depending on your definition of the word 'fun' there's some of that too. I also wanted to put a disclaimer out there, I don't know if I did in the first chapter or not, obviously, the Vampire Knight cast and world are not mine however I do own the OC's and the plot. If you want to do a re-write or don't like my slow updates and want to do better than please be my guest but message me and please give me credit before just going off and posting. Thanks! I really hope you enjoy this chapter, thanks to everyone reading I really appreciate your support, comments, and curiosity to see where this story is going. Without further stall, chapter 4! ~Len

Ch. 4: Dead or Alive, I'll Find You

Zero and Kaito were settling in at the safe house, it wasn't a large place, closer to a large bunker rather but it was homey enough to be comfortable. "What do you plan on doing?" Kaito voiced during the stretch of silence after they unpacked their things.

"You mean about the fight? I'm not sure, I'll have to train a little for it though and I'll need another weapon...fighting a human, a hunter no less, is much more difficult than hunting level E's." Zero replied with a sigh. He was used to fighting sure, but humans were different. Far more fragile than vampires and yet here he was preparing to take the life of a hunter.

"We vowed not to kill humans but with every passing month it seems we further and further from what being a hunter is and means. The association has always had rogues and lost members due to vampire attacks, but I've never heard of a hunter being okay with killing another member or thought we'd end up in a time where we kill our family members, our friends just to save face." The ashen-brown haired hunter voiced with a solemn tone Zero hadn't heard in quite some time. Remembering Kaito's older brother's untimely and unfortunate death after he had been turned by a pureblood, he nodded in solidarity.

"The lives of hunters are no longer as important as their names or legacies left behind. We're so focused on a purified lineage the individual people, our personal identities no longer matter. That's the only reason the association still keeps me around even after my parents' murder, it's why I'll be able to deal with Iori without having to answer for his death or face any kind of real consequences. It's not supposed to be this way. And yet here we are. Doing what we can, what has become acceptable, just to survive in this twisted community the association has become." Zero agreed, had his parents not been forced to attempt to separate he and his brother, Ichiru may still be with him and the Kiryuu family still alive.

"What about Kuran? What do you think he'll do?" Kaito changed the subject not wishing for either of them to dwell on darker topics at the moment, their situation was still grave without the added past.

"I wish I knew. He won't back off, even if Cross tells him to, Yuuki always will be his main focus and as long as she is in potential danger he won't step off. Being here might keep his ears closed for now but I'm sure it won't be long until someone gives him an in." Zero replied flatly, he would prefer not to deal with any of the nobles while he had more important issues to work out but it was unlikely he would simply be left alone.

"Then what do we do here aside from hideout and wait for any word from Touga-sensei?" They still had pressing matters to deal with, not just Iori but his right hand Gaashi as well as whatever else could be in store.

"I'll have to train some, Iori is still a formidable opponent and I haven't fought another hunter since spar training but this is a little more serious. We also need something on Gaashi, at this point may it be information or a body first I don't really care. She is just as if not more dangerous than Iori." Zero answered, even though morally he didn't wish to kill another hunter it was time he started thinking about how he was going to survive. Kaito gave his trusted friend a look of sympathy but nodded. At the moment Zero was being treated like a level E on the kill list of two hunters, only one of which he knew how to deal with, until he could be assured of his safety outside of the inevitable fight all safe bets were off as was keeping their moral vow as hunters. They would have to deal with the aftermath when it came.

"I'll do everything I can to help." The elder hunter meant what he said, Zero was the only family he considered to have left and knew the feeling was mutual. They needed each other.

"Then I suppose we should start sparring." Zero smirked at the groan that followed his statement, Kaito well knew he would lose and gave up trying to fight the younger before they even left for their first official assignment.

It was only in passing that she happened to catch the scent, a familiar one that stopped in her tracks. 'Kiryuu is around here somewhere.' Though there wasn't anything particularly telling about where she was, Seiren assumed the hunter's safe house was well hidden for a reason. As she raced through unfamiliar areas, almost blindly following whatever trails she could pick up on Seiren noted a faint noise off to her left. Eyes narrowing she leapt into the trees silently for a better look. It wasn't likely she was followed, she would have detected someone behind her, so either she found the hunters or someone else was on the same trail. Another noise, louder this time, sounded in front of her. Seiren masked her aura, waiting silently, her breath stilled and any movement save for the occasional blink ceased until the figure came into view. 'Definitely not Kiryuu-kun or Takamiya-kun. Is this one of the beings tracking them?' She wondered, upon closer inspection she could tell it was a hunter although their magic presence was suppressed greatly with numerous charms. The hunter covered their face and any possible defining features preventing Seiren from figuring out who exactly she was dealing with, as they darted away however she caught a shimmer of purple hair and what looked like a crest of some sort sewn into the hunting jacket that covered their body. 'Hopefully Kiryuu-kun has an idea of who it is.' The silent vampire waited until the hunter had left her immediate area before heading in a different direction along a stronger trail. It was now a race to find the hunters for a different reason. They could be in danger.

Zero paused mid-strike feeling a disturbance in the barrier, Kaito looked at him before taking out a charmed knife in preparation. "What was that?" He questioned as Zero hooked Bloody Rose back on his pants.

"Either a vampire or hunter, it came from the south side, let's get going." Came the reply before the younger took off to investigate.

'Definitely the opposite of staying put and unnoticed like we're supposed to...' Kaito grumbled in thought but followed his friend regardless, when Zero was onto something he was practically unreasonable. By the time he caught up to the silverette Zero was helping one of Kuran's nobles through the barrier. "Touga is going to kill me you know." He voiced once the noble was safely inside a protective field only active when the safe house was in use.

"Only if Gaashi doesn't find us first, Seiren came within earshot and got a visual of her closer to the river." Zero disclosed with a frown.

"She followed you here?" Kaito questioned looking at the noble with a raised eyebrow. Before Seiren could reply however Zero stepped in to defend her.

"No, Seiren is too hard to track, she followed _us_. She has been ever since we left the association, likely she lost us since she doesn't know this area and doesn't have the tracking ability of a vampire. However that doesn't promise our safety, for now none of us can leave nor should anyone come to the safe house until we get rid of her. Is that doable?" The silverette questioned looking between his friend and Kuran's most trusted noble. When he got nods from both parties the trio headed back into the safe house to contact the others.

_'Kaname-sama, I have made contact with Kiryuu-kun in the safe house, it seems they were followed partway by the hunter Gaashi and I have been asked not to leave nor allow anyone else to approach for their safety. I await further orders.'_ Seiren spoke to her leader as she watched Kaito call Touga and Zero notify Cross, neither hunter mentioned she was with them which she assumed was more for her sake than anything. According to Takuma the hunters didn't want any vampire assistance and yet they allowed her to stay with them for the time being.

"What are we going to about Gaashi?" Kaito asked once both boys were done with their calls.

"We either have to capture her, or kill her. I'd like to get some answers personally however keeping her alive may prove to be too dangerous in the long run." Zero shrugged, looking over at Seiren his eyes narrowed marginally. "You might prove to be of some help, if Kuran wants to get involved tell him I need answers from her. If the nobles can't catch her we might have a larger issue on our hands. Will you pass that along to him?" He asked before standing and retrieving a stack of papers from a nearby desk. Seiren nodded and continued watching the younger boy as he moved things around. "The crest, you saw it right? Do you think you could replicate part of it?" He passed a pencil and a blank pad over to the noble.

"I believe so, it was different than the mark left on the day class student but some of the elements looked similar. Like this." She answered sliding the paper back to the hunter. Zero analyzed it for a moment before pulling a book off a stack he was sitting by and flipped to a previously marked page.

"You found it? Is it a clan crest like Iori's?" Kaito asked peering over at the paper as well.

"No, not quite anyway, it is a symbol for a gathering of hunters but nothing like a clan. They were once a rogue group of hunters that practiced the dark magic spells that have been long banished from modern practice or knowledge. I don't know how she came upon it but if she knows _any_ dark magic there will be consequences. Even if she only plans to use it against me to help Iori, dark magic goes beyond the initial casted charm. It messes with the balance we keep as hunters and vampires. We need to find her, I need to know who she is." Zero answered picking up his own hunting jacket and passed Kaito his. "Tell Kuran to meet us at the gates of the academy, protocol and safety my ass, finding Gaashi takes top priority now." He voiced and headed for the door. Kaito and Seiren shared a look before following quickly.

"Do you think she'll catch on and follow us towards the academy?" Kaito questioned as the trio paced themselves on foot back to Cross.

"That's what I'm hoping, if she follows us there she'll be easier to capture. Otherwise we'll have to track her all over the place." Zero answered leading the way along a hidden trail.

"She could attack us though." Seiren pointed out quietly, she had never really felt anything towards the ex-human hunter. Unlike her more passionate classmates, to her Zero was simply there as they were as they all were, just a part of life she had become used to. Conversing with him didn't peak her interest but neither did she detest the idea.

"If she does you and Kaito will continue to the academy and I'll run her off somewhere until I can get in contact with you again." Came the answer in a tone that told them there would be no other options or discussion.

Kaname gathered the nobles at the gates of the academy, out of sight from Cross or Touga but in clear view for the hunters and Seiren. "So let me get this straight, Kiryuu is now leading this crazed chick to us?" Ruka raised an eyebrow despite the near glare she was harboring.

"The need to deal with this new hunter, Gaashi, has become quite clear. She holds answers and Kiryuu-kun this is the best chance we have at capturing her alive." Kaname replied watching over the forest entry.

"Or...what?" Aido questioned, hunters wouldn't ask for their help unless it was their last option. Everyone knew that.

"The only other option is to kill her, no questions asked and no answers given. She is a large threat, one that needs to be dealt with." Kaito's voice sounded as he and Seiren came out of the wood. Kaname's eyes narrowed at their states, scratched and bleeding through a makeshift compression on his side. Seiren even adorned scratches that were healing but still noticeable. They both looked worn out and their breathing was much more labored than it should have been.

"What happened, and where is Kiryuu." Kaname all but demanded looking between both hunter and vampire for answers.

"She attacked us on the run, Zero told us to come back here no matter what happened. He lead her deeper into the forest and is Satan knows where now." Kaito grunted out kneeling on the ground to ease his bleeding side. 'Dammit Zero, where the fuck did you go.' He thought before his vision got blurry. The last thing his eyes caught was Seiren moving to catch his fall before the world went dark.

"Seiren, take Takamiya-kun to the moon dorm's infirmary, Ruka and Rima will accompany you there. The rest of you will keep the school on an informal lockdown until I return." Kaname ordered before he took off into the forest. 'You're a fool Kiryuu-kun.' He thought as he tracked the blood splatter and scent of Kaito to where the initial attack happened.

**A/N: **Alright and that is where I will leave you for now. Poor Kaito, I tend to be quite hard on him, but he'll be fine I think. Zero on the other hand...I suppose we'll have to find out next chapter! All in all, thank you all for reading, I know this was a long time coming and I apologize for that, next chapter should (and I say should for a reason) be out fairly soon now that I'm on a good roll with this story and have a pretty good image of where it's going to go. I look forward to hearing back from you and updating again soon! In the upcoming chapter there will be a little more of an established relationship between Zero and the night class students and I'll throw in some Kaito X someone special as well since it's coming together so easily. Maybe you can guess who it is already, let me know if you do. As always I look forward to hearing from readers, via reviews but I don't have any ill intentions or bad wishes on those who choose not to leave their mark on my fics. Happy reading, congrats to those of you that have already finished school, summer awaits and good luck to those still waiting for their last day. Until next time! ~Len


	5. Ch 5: Murderer

**A/N: **Oh gosh how long has it been? A while right? I'm so sorry. I'm not going to bother with an explanation of why this is so late because I'm literally as tired of writing them as you are of reading them so I'll just cut to a short future warning. And yes when I say warning I mean it for this chapter and the next few to come, please keep that in mind. **In this chapter, there will be character death, some psychological trauma, and lots of mental strain!** It's safe to say as of now these will be reoccurring themes for the next few chapters along with suicidal tendencies and/or thoughts so if that is going to cause problems for you I suggest not reading them. In happier news Zero and Kaname's relationship is starting with a bit of hinted lemon so enjoy that. Again I apologize for this being such a slow update, things are not well in my home and I'm trying to just keep everything standing as best I can. I am doing my best to make the chapters longer too, because you all deserve at least that much. Thank you again and please enjoy.

Ch. 5: Murderer

Blood, and lots of it, surrounded Kaname. Behind him the trees had been scorched with some sort of magic and in front of him remained a mark carved into the ground. Kaname assumed it was for a charm though he wasn't familiar enough to know which one or who it was cast by. What the pureblood _did _know was the distress signals coming through his partial bond with Zero. Darting through the trees following his senses Kaname almost missed a flash of silver hair a little ways from the river. Making a quick turn he rushed through unfamiliar ground until he found the hunter he was looking for. 'Zero.' his mind supplied as he approached slowly. To say he was in rough shape would be generous. Kaname could almost taste the boy's blood as it continued to flow from a wound on his shoulder. Black marks, not unlike the ones on the trees Kaname had seen, marred the pale skin on his right arm and various scrapes and bruises could be seen on his back where his jacket and shirt had been torn. "Zero." Kaname finally announced his presence verbally but the hunter hardly flinched.

"She's still around, I don't know where." he panted out slowly turning to face the older vampire.

"Let me help you." Kaname wasn't one to ask first but he feared Zero may reject him harder if he were to simply step in.

"It's not your fight, Kuran." the silverette stated, weak and suffering from blood loss he may be but he wasn't about to let another fight his battles for him. Kaname knew this, it was both an endearing and infuriating quality most, if not every hunter the pureblood knew, possessed. But this was no time to be noble and Zero couldn't afford to die here.

"It's not, but neither is it possible for me to simply walk away when I know her next target is the academy. Not only is she a danger but the other hunter as well. Either you accept my help or I will force it upon you just so you will live on the way back to the school."

"If you take me back without something being done about her you are _promising _the deaths of the students." Zero didn't think it was necessary to remind the vampire that Yuuki too would be at risk. Kaname seemed to get the message regardless.

"Can you still fight?" he asked taking in Zero's physical condition once more.

"Yes, despite that she specializes in blitz attacks I should be fine fighting her face to face. That being said my ability to sense her is getting blurry, that initial impact of her magic had an added effect making my senses, at least the vampire ones, dull considerably." Zero wasn't a fan of telling anyone, much less Kuran, about a handicap. But as he could feel his body grow weaker with every ounce of blood that left his body through open wounds the hunter realized this was his only option if he wanted a chance at a full recovery before he would have to face Iori.

"I will be your senses, and your backup if needed. Working together is the only way we'll get out of here with you still breathing." the pureblood vocied, he knew it was hard to admit to a weakness, but the result was far more favorable this way.

"If we can detain her that would be preferred, but if that's too risky just give me a clear opening to a vital organ." it wasn't hard to figure out what his sentence implied, though it was hard to believe Zero would shoot a human. Kaname would need to trust him.

"Alright, we will try to detain her first. I can feel a presence a little ways off from us that I assume is Gaashi. She'll be here soon." the pureblood voiced as he held out a hand to support the younger vampire. The mild surprise that went through the older vampire, as Zero took said hand without protest or hesitance, was replaced by concern as Kaname realized that although Zero's state looked bad, the physical and mental toll was likely much worse. Before he could comment however Zero was in front of him blocking a charmed chain scythe from slashing Kaname's skin.

"Gaashi has multiple weapons bonded to her power, though none of them are as strong ad Bloody Rose on their own, the ability to switch between them freely gives her an advantage. The scythe in particular is hard to trace before it hits." he explained as he tossed it to the side. Though it was a matter of fact explanation Kaname knew the silver-haired hunter was telling him to be careful, their opponent wasn't a normal hunter. A nod was all that was given in response.

"Dirty tricks aside, we know you're there. Come out and fight, you will either surrender or be killed." Kaname faced the trees in back of them, shielding the hunter in turn from a blast of magic power with his aura. Lilac-amethyst eyes narrowed as said hunter emerged from the woods to face them head on.

"I see you have a partner, does the great Kiryuu name shudder so much you would stoop so low as to join with vampires?" she sneered though Zero gave no indication he even heard the remark. Opting to do nothing but pull a gun from his jacket and a blade from his belt.

"You can either surrender quietly or be detained by force, those are your options. I don't know what grudge you have against me or why you've joined with Usaki Iori but my fight with him has nothing to do with you." he voiced as Kaname moved to the side allowing the two hunters to face each other. Gaashi's eyes narrowed as she pulled her scythe back to her and slid into an offensive stance.

"You Kiryuus always did think you were so far above the rest of us. Pretending you did no wrong, never paying the full price of all the damage you caused. It was because of you we had to go into hiding and it was you who killed us off. It's all your fault, Iori-sama is one of many hunters tossed aside like dirt by the beloved Kiryuu name. It's only right he would want you dead, it's what you deserve. Our families suffered, died, and were left behind by the association. Ostracized and tormented every time we tried to explain what real manipulation looked like. Don't act like you don't remember me, don't pretend you're that innocent!" she screamed at him, charging the short distance forward whipping her weapon around. Zero dodged to the left, the blade missing by an inch, pulling his dagger from its sheath in one movement he spun dragging it across her shoulder as he moved out of the way. Gaashi winced but moved to face him once again, leaving her bleeding back open to Kaname.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Those that practiced dark magic were banned after the revolution, such rules have been upheld since and it was commonly known to those in the association if you were found continuing such practices or passing them on you would be stripped of your titles and eliminated if necessary." the silverette replied flicking the blood from his blade.

"You eliminated my birthright! And now you're going to answer for your sins. I will break Kiryuu Zero." Kaname looked between the two hunters, Zero stood in preparation for another attack, Gaashi threw her scythe aside and drew throwing knives similar to the ones Kaito used.

'She's trying to keep him at a distance, if Zero is up close his is superior.' the vampire figured. 'I can force her closer but Zero may not appreciate it...' while weighing his options Kaname noticed new blood dripping from the teen's upper chest area, it wasn't much but it was enough to make the pureblood's decision. Focusing his aura to spread, cutting off Gaashi's ability to move anywhere but forward he sent a surge of power forward making her jump into an attack pre-maturely, allowing Zero to meet her halfway and disarm her before plunging his own blade into her chest. Blood erupted from her wound as she screamed.

"It's over." was all the silverette mumbled to her, pulling the dagger from her flesh once again. Her eyes burned with hate, mustering the strength she had left she slices his neck along the tattoo keeping his level E nature at bay, watching him grit his teeth in pain.

"I'm not done yet!" she spit blood, pressing her knife deeper creating a cavity in his neck. With eyes burning red as vampire instincts kicked in Zero lifted his gun to her heart and pulled the trigger. It was almost slow motion the way the life left her eyes and her body went limp. It had only been a few seconds, but that was all they needed. As he landed on the ground, holding his neck, he heard the dead thud of her body hit the forest's floor. In pain and struggling to stay conscious Zero felt something inside him numb his rational thought. Replaced by one word. Murderer.

Kaname placed a hand on Zero's shoulder, noting how quickly he could feel warm blood covering it and how slow the boy's pulse was becoming. 'It can't be helped, we won't make it back like this.' he thought unbuttoning his shirt and slicing just enough through his neck for a few drops of blood to appear. That was enough to entice vampires of lower status for miles. But it was a calculated risk. As predicted Zero's eyes bloomed crimson hunger, but there was something missing in them. Even as he robotically straddled the other's knee and slid his fangs in to drink, Kaname felt there was something wrong. It concerned him more than the blood loss or the slowly healing wounds. Everything was quiet as he drank, neither said a word even after he pulled away, licking the remaining blood from his lips. Lilac-amethyst eyes trailed back to the body of the fallen hunter, then to the blood on his hands.

"What have I done." he whispered, he wasn't sure if he was talking to Kaname, to himself or to the body that lay before him. All the preparation in the world didn't help him realize how much guilt like this would weigh on him.

"You did what you had to in order to protect those that cannot defend themselves." Kaname answered carefully. Unlike Zero he didn't feel guilt for killing those of his kind, vampires were raised differently that way. He didn't have the burden of protecting an entire species from another, or from himself. Remembering what Cross had said to him in his office he pulled the broken teen to him, Zero was a vampire that could kill level E's, withstand torment and possessed strength unknown to most. But he was a hunter first. A hunter that vowed to protect their kind and the humans he lived around. Zero committed the ultimate sin in the eyes of the hunters, and now he needed to recover and prepare to do it again.

"Who's to say this is protecting anyone. This mess started because of my clan." the silverette pointed out bitterly. He didn't lift his gaze from where it was glued to his bloodied hands. Stained rust brown as it went cold. He didn't expect the hand that brushed red stained bangs out of his eyes or the arm that circled around his middle. He blinked at the pureblood, vaguely realizing the scenery around him had changed to that of the prince's room.

"You should get some rest, I will inform the others of what happened, they will clean up as best they can. In the meantime I believe it is best for you to stay here until we set up a room for you." Kaname became formal and left the confused teen in his bed, surely the nobles wouldn't be pleased but at the moment he didn't care.

"Why are you doing this, you don't even like my existence here at the academy." Zero questioned before Kaname could leave. The older vampire paused with his hand on the doorknob but didn't give an answer. Moments of silence passed before the brunette opened the door.

"You can shower, I'll have a change of clothes dropped off soon." was all he said before he was gone, leaving the younger's question hanging in the air. Zero frowned but decided it was easier to just take the other's gratitude given his current state.

'Besides if I walked into the perfects quarters like this Yuuki would surely start asking questions.' he sighed as he stood and moved into the bathroom.

Kaname breathed a sigh as he heard the water in the shower start running. What the hell was he thinking bringing a half-conscious broken hunter into his room? It just happened, that feeling of needing to protect a being more fragile than himself, as soon as Zero's body connected with his something changed. A feeling of need for the teen to be okay, if he was naive he would blame it on the partial bond but this was Kuran Kaname. Naive thinking was something long past. The feeling he got from the hunter was unlike anything he felt for Yuuki, it was a need to bond, a need to mate. As he listened in on said oblivious silverette he could almost see the blood being washed out of his hair, tinted water trailing down perfectly sculpted muscles. And his blood...the smell of Zero's blood was intoxicating, if only he could pierce his fangs into that beautiful neck and drink just a bit of that beautiful liquid. To feel it coursing through his mouth, down his throat. The mere idea sent sparks of carnal desire from his bran straight down to his pants. Opening his eyes Kaname shook his head a little too viciously and pulled away from the wall. He was entertaining his thoughts too much, he still needed to tell the others what happened. "Kaname-sama, what happened?" Aido was the first to speak as the pureblood excited the moon dorms and met the awaiting night class along with Touga and Cross. To his surprise and relief Yuuki was not present.

"There was no choice but to kill Gaashi, Kiryuu-kun is resting and should recover physically quite quickly. Even so I would like to temporarily move him to the moon dorms. As I understand it, killing another hunter is forbidden and for his further protection it would be best for him to stay amongst other vampires. If it is possible and agreed upon I shall have Takamiya-kun room with him for his stay." he replied looking over at Zero's two guardians. He knew this was a touchy subject to just be shared out in the open but they had to know the reality of the situation. Zero felt inhuman after what he had done, no longer was he safe around himself or any day class student. Even Kaito would be at a small risk but as it was, he was the only one able to talk logic and straight thinking into Zero during one of his episodes of depression.

"I will require updates on both boys' conditions. But I can't disagree with your reasons. As of now it is the safest option, at least until we know how the association will react." Kaien agreed, though his eyes were solum and dark he didn't turn away from Kaname, waiting for assurance Zero would be taken care of and Kaito tended to until they were stable again.

"I will designate a personal watch for both of them. They will be safe." the brunette promised with a nod. Cross sighed and nodded, Touga remained silent but the warning glare he cast at the pureblood held enough words. "Takuma will you and Shiki get a room ready, Seiren if you inform Takamiya-kun everything that was disclosed here, the rest of you are dismissed." Kaname announced as he left the group once again to check on the hunter.

**A/N:** Well there you have chapter five, this was a little rough for me to write since I have had a couple of deaths in my life recently. Hopefully I'll be able to get the next chapter out sooner. And speaking of said next chapter, it will focus a lot on Kaito and Zero, their mutual struggle and how they help each other out. Of course they are being watched the entire time, that will come into play as well. I'm getting close to writing Zero's fight with Iori so you can probably expect that in chapter seven? Thank you to everyone thats reading, reviewing, following, etc. It means a lot to me and I hope I am doing this story justice for you all, meeting at least most of the expectations I carried over from Actor. (I don't know if I will ever be able to fully get to that caliber of writing again but I'll always keep trying) Have a wonderful night, day, evening or morning wherever you are and I will see you soon!~Len-kun


	6. Ch 6: Locked Memories

**A/N: **Hello hello, it's been a while since I've updated and I'm so sorry about that. I want to say that I hope this chapter was worth the wait but I'm not entirely sure. I did give myself a bit of a modified outline for the main events of this story so hopefully it'll be a little easier from now on to keep consistent with the storyline, it also might be helpful (or unnecessary idk) to mention that Zero is twenty at this point in time and hence the ages of the other characters are also a little different from the manga/anime. This chapter contains a flashback from Zero's memories, hence the title, with **Graphic Depictions of Violence **just to give everyone a fair warning, the flashback is indicated by a separation line and everything is in italics for that section so if you want to skip that for your own sake you are welcome to do so. Furthermore, I decided to add another pairing for Kaito and that's mainly what this chapter centers around for the first half, the second half is where the warning comes into place. There is still a bit of KaZe in this chapter and backstory and I do add another OC but don't worry she's already dead so don't hate me too much please. This is going to be a long chapter, so buckle up and I hope you enjoy this rollercoaster.

Ch. 6: Locked Memories

As he stepped out of the shower, a towel wrapped loosely around his waist, Zero stared at himself in the mirror. A scar was forming, a result from stepping in front of Seiren and Kaito when Gaashi first attacked. It almost looked like a burn, just below his collarbone on the left, it still sparked when he touched it. Her magic was strange, unlike others he had felt either in combat or for training. Unlike magic that was cast and caused outward damage hers was still active under the healing skin. He could feel it travel across his body. The mark itself resembled a pair of wings. 'It could be a charm or something similar. Dark magic is much different than the hunter magic allowed now.' he reminded himself. Gaashi's words sounded in his head at the thought. 'Her birthright...I don't know what that means, I don't know who she is...right?' being skeptical of his family past was never something that crossed Zero's mind. They simply won over others, that was it. He would remember a name like hers, a person like her if they had met previously. He and his brother didn't have many friends, Kaito was one of few that would willingly talk to him and hung around.

"Zero?" the voice almost made him jump as he turned to face his life long friend standing in the bathroom doorway with Kaname behind him. "Is that from her?" he asked motioning to the mark on the silverette's chest. Zero didn't miss how Kaname's eyes narrowed when he nodded. He felt like he was being analyzed. Kaito moved forward and put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Does it hurt?" he questioned seriously.

"Not exactly...I can feel her magic still active, like it soaked through my skin to my body. It's not painful just strange and I don't particularly know what is going to happen because of it." the younger answered running a finger along the scar's edge.

"Should we take you to Cross or Touga?" Kaname questioned, his eyes hadn't lifted from the mark but they burned with hidden anger at the deceased hunter for creating such a thing.

"I doubt it's that serious, right now I just want to sleep some. Soon I will need to begin training to face Iori..." Zero mumbled out barely above a whisper. Kaito nodded and left the bathroom for his friend to get changed.

"What do you think, Takamiya-kun? Is that something we should look into in the future?" Kaname questioned once the two moved Kaito's things and the necessary medical equipment he would require for recovery into the room across the hall from the pureblood.

"Even if we did, I don't know how far we would get without having the aid of dark magic books. They were destroyed a long time ago to my knowledge. We are better off helping Zero recover and prepare ourselves for the aftermath of his fight with Iori." Kaito answered lying down on his back with a wince.

"I will have Seiren keeping watch and tending to any medical needs. I too, of course, will come in and bring the nurse for a general assessment on your progress." despite that he was speaking formally Kaito could tell there was a hint of urgency in his tone.

"Yeah alright, since I will be on medical leave from the association for at least a week I'll see what I can find out about the dark magic Gaashi used. It might take me a while to get Zero to open up about what he feels and knows but..." Kaito sighed trailing off as he stared at the bed next to his.

"I understand, whatever you can do or learn will be greatly appreciated." the vampire bowed slightly and turned to leave before Kaito stopped him.

"Kuran-san, one more thing," he started though the pureblood didn't turn to face him. "Fighting humans is not like vampires of any status, fellow hunters aren't the main target so we don't know what we should do against them or how to accurately protect ourselves. For Zero it's even more important since he is a vampire as well. He won't ask for help, but he will need it. I know you two aren't close, and Zero will never say this out loud, but he needs your help right now. As he is in this state he already signed a death certificate for himself and dug the hole." the older hunter didn't need to elaborate anymore for his message to be clearly received.

"I will do whatever I can." was all Kaname said before walking out the door back to his own room as Seiren stepped out of the corner shadows in the room and bowed slightly.

"I will be your watch." she stated simply before Zero walked in, freshly changed into his sleepwear and took up the other bed in the room. Kaito looked at his friend and partner, noting the vacant eyes and hollow expression with dread.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked, keeping his eyes locked on the silverette's form.

"Talk about what?" came the reply question that normally would have Kaito sighing in exasperation if the circumstances were different.

"If you want to prepare yourself for fighting Iori then you have to let what happened with Gaashi go. Holding onto it will get you killed." the older hunter sighed eventually.

"Have we met her before?" the silverette asked after a brief moment of silence.

"Who, Gaashi? I doubt it, I feel like we'd remember someone like that. Why, did she say something?" the silence that followed gave Kaito his answer but he decided to wait until the other hunter spoke.

"Yeah...she mentioned something about me taking away her birthright, how my family never paid for the damage we created. She told me not to act like I didn't remember her, like I was innocent." Zero eventually explained. Normally the words of a crazed hunter or vampire wouldn't bother him but Gaashi was specific and alluded to their being more hunters like her out there. Possibly with the same motive.

"Do you think there's any truth behind it? Her anger could be misdirected..." Kaito pointed out, he would admit though, it was strange that she was pinning not just Zero but the Kiryuu Clan as a whole.

"There are hunters that shame my clan, however this is the first time someone has been so specific with an accusation that links directly to an act put in motion by my family. Although the idea of dark magic being banned was always wanted, my great grandparents were the ones to put the idea into hunter law. That was before our time however, my parents were still children." Zero sighed knowing he wasn't going to get much sleep while he was questioning everything he knew. He needed answers.

"Where are you going?" Kaito voiced as he watched Zero slip into the bathroom with a fresh change of clothes.

"To get some answers." came the simple reply that had Kaito narrowing his eyes.

"Where from." he pressed, he knew there was a large possibility he wouldn't like the answer but he needed to know.

"The only place that could give me any, the house." Zero spoke dryly, he didn't wish to go back there, but the home in which he watched his parents be murdered was untouched by the association and council to this day. He was the rightful heir to the place and all of its contents despite that he vowed to never return. He didn't see that he had any other option at the moment.

"You can't be serious. You said you'd never go back there." Kaito sat up, ignoring the pain from his chest, and gave Zero a hard stare once he emerged from the bathroom.

"I said I'd never kill a hunter or become a vampire too, and yet here we are. I have to know, Kaito, I need to know what the hell she was talking about." Zero argued back after he had put on his shoes and clipped Bloody Rose to his belt.

"Then I'm going with you. You can't go there alone." that older started before he was stopped by a hand that pushed him back down onto the mattress.

"You're not going anywhere and if I have to charm this room for you to stay here I _will_ do so. Right now you're in no condition to go anywhere. I will be fine." the silverette lifted his hand before giving Seiren a passing nod and leaving the room.

"Seiren-san," Kaito's tone had changed to one of alarm and worry, so much so it caught the emotionless vampire off guard. "Tell Kuran where Zero is going, I don't care how it happens but he can't go there alone. Not like this." the wounded hunter almost pleaded, something Seiren swore she would never see. With a nod, she left the room to inform the pureblood, the panic-stricken eyes of Kaito locked in her mind.

The knock at his door was a short warning before Seiren walked in. Kaname looked up from his papers and gave the noble a once over. "Kaname-sama, Kiryuu-kun left the academy and Takamiya-kun insists someone go after him." she informed quickly before the vampire had a chance to question her intrusion.

"Where did he say he was going?"Kaname questioned even though he was already standing and grabbing his coat.

"Kiryuu-kun claimed he would return home, I assume that would mean his childhood home." Seiren replied with her natural stoic expression.

"You can assure Takamiya-kun that I will find Zero and I promise his safe return." the pureblood replied before quickly exiting the room to chase after the hunter. As she walked back into the hunters' bedroom she noticed Kaito had moved to watch intently out the window. Likely wanting to see Zero make a safe return with his own eyes.

"You worry about him?" she asked eventually after watching the other continue to stare out the window for a while.

"I do. Zero is like a brother to me, and he's not well. On top of that he could be attacked at any given moment." Kaito pointed out without moving his eyes from the window. Sensing the boy's turmoil Seiren took up a sitting position on the opposite end of his bed and watched out the window as well.

"Kaname-sama will find him you no and he will bring Kiryuu-kun back." she voiced after another comfortable pause. It surprised he how easy it was staying in a room with two hunters like Kaito and Zero. Notorious on the field but so different in private. It made her wonder if all humans shared a similar split personality when at home around those that make them comfortable.

"I don't doubt he'll find him, what I worry about it what Zero will learn when he gets there and the memories that he's been suppressing in the dark corners of his mind since he was eight will likely come back to haunt him once again. That is what I am worried about." Kaito explained with a defeated sigh, there was nothing he could do to help Zero until the damage was done and a healing process started. All he could do was sit and wait to find out what kind of state Zero was in upon his return.

"He had his memories suppressed?" Seiren was a little shocked at the idea, taking out memories usually left vampires feeling vacant and hollow. She couldn't imagine what it would be like for a human child.

"It wasn't on purpose. Rather it's a natural defense that can happen to humans, usually children but not always, when they've been through something so traumatic their brain blocks out the details and they can't remember things like the aftermath of the event or sometimes the entire event itself. It's helpful because it lets the person continue living as normal as possible but it's not permanent and certain words, smells, places or things can free those repressed memories and make that person relive the event in very clear and very full detail." Kaito sighed remembering the first night the memories of his brother's final day came back to him. To say it was almost unlivable would be generous.

"Vampires do not have such a thing, if one's memory is being erased it is usually as punishment or for seeing something we weren't supposed to. Trauma, I believe you call it, does not affect us like it does you or humans in general." Seiren voiced quietly, she was curious about the hunter boys and why they acted the way they did. Through Kaito she might be able to get some answers.

"I would say that sounds blissful but actually that's pretty depressing." came the half-laugh which caught the noble's curiosity.

"What do you mean by depressing?" she questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Because when you're never able to experience trauma you can never experience true relief or happiness either. You lack both sides of the coin and to most humans that's no way to live your life. It's meaningless." Kaito pointed out with a shrug as though it was obvious. Despite what he went through with his brother there was always a brighter side. That brighter side happened to be his drive to do better, to excel as a hunter and to protect those around him no matter the cost.

"Vampires do not have such emotions as strongly as humans do, it would make us far more vulnerable to being attacked or could risk the lives of others." Seiren justified. It wasn't that vampires lacked all traces of emotion, rather they were forced to dull them because of the possibility of something going wrong.

"Sure, makes sense. But how are you ever going to be happy or invested in a relationship for more than just bloodlines and political gain? Or is that stuff too below you. Vampires in general but aristocrats especially seem to love the common belief that anything human is despicable." Kaito shook his head, vampires were beings he would never fully be able to understand.

"Humans are carefree, they don't need to be careful and are unburdened by the harsh realities of the world. They're fragile and weak in comparison." the dull flash that passed through Kaito's eyes was more than enough to tell Seiren he didn't agree.

"You think humans are unburdened," he snorted dryly, some venom leaking into his tone at the thought. "You should tell that to Yagari, Zero, Cross or any other 'weak and fragile' human you come across. You'll learn that burden is everywhere and our lives are not as blissful or carefree as you may like to believe." though his tone was quiet the amount of anger Seiren could feel was both impressive and surprising. Much like Zero, Kaito was not someone you wished to cross on a bad night. She could tell the older hunter was more than skilled enough to take out a noble or two if he wanted.

"Don't you protect the day class because they are weak humans?" Seiren, although knowing she was on thin ice, decided to ask.

"They don't know about vampires or hunters. We protect them at this school much like we protect vampires at their social balls or other hunters on a hunt. We protect those around us regardless if they necessarily need it or not." came the answer, though the anger had subsided in his voice there was now traces of an unknown pain Seiren couldn't place.

"Then you never get thanked or rewarded by them, not even noticed half the time, so why bother?" Seiren frowned slightly, really humans were stupid creatures.

"We don't do it for that, at least that's how it's supposed to be, regardless though...we do it because we care about beings when you get down to it. Hunter, human and vampire alike. As Zero told me once, 'Everyone is the same when they're dead so we might as well care to protect the lives of those around us for as long as we can to make something of ourselves before we end up dirt like everyone else'." Kaito couldn't help the hint of a smile that slipped across his face at the line.

"Even us..." it was a statement but Seiren almost felt as though she needed reassurance about it.

"Yeah, even you." when he turned he found himself staring into hopeful steely eyes that he was only used to seeing blank expressions from. It was so surprising all he could do was blink back, wonder and confusion written all over his face. To further his surprise, and raise alarm, he saw a tear forming in the emotionless noble's eyes and fall down her cheek. "Woah, woah! Why are you crying?!" he mentally shook himself and started searching frantically for a tissue. Seiren dipped her head and grabbed onto the hunter's hand making him freeze his movements.

"No one...no one has ever said they would protect me." she whispered out, the tears dripping onto Kaito's hand felt warm and didn't stop at just a few. Seiren's emotionless mask had broken and a dam had shattered. Kaito, acting more on emotion than logic, pulled the crying noble to him and held her as she cried. A similar act his brother had done to him when he was sad or scared.

'Vampire she may be, but emotionally she was stunted because of the pressures of being a noble.' he thought as they sat in silence. Secretly, although it would likely never go voiced, he enjoyed the feeling and wouldn't mind if Zero and Kuran took a little while longer to get back to Cross Academy.

Kaname rushed through the streets once again trailing after Zero's lingering scent. 'This better not become a pattern.' he grumbled following the trail back into the woods and along an old gravel pathway that had become overgrown with roots and weeds. As he walked he could feel Zero growing closer until he appeared at what seemed to be what was left of an abandoned cottage house. Sensing the object of is mission was deep inside the place he carefully pushed aside the broken door and stepped inside. The interior, though faded and clearly worn, was still beautiful. Redwood tables and polished floors were just the beginning of the house that felt to Kaname as though it was welcoming him even without any signs of life. He assumed the air of pleasant memories kept it feeling warm and lively even after eleven years. As the vampire walked around taking in the home Zero once shared with his family he noticed a painted portrait hanging in what he assumed was the living room. The canvas depicted Zero, his twin Iciru and who Kaname could only assume were their parents. Both boys took after their father in looks but the intensity of their mother's eyes that could be felt even from a picture was something only Zero seemed to inherit.

"Kaname?" the quiet voice caught the pureblood more off-guard than he would have been had he been yelled at.

"Zero..." whatever sentence the pureblood was going to follow up with died on his tongue as soon as he saw the young vampire step into the dimly lit room. It almost looked as if he had aged ten years since Kaname had seen him earlier in the evening. The hunter looked broken down, tired and worn as if he had seen too much. The feeling of emotional anguish clouded the room's previous welcoming energy and coated it in a dark lifeless fog. Hollow eyes stared passed the vampire price into a distance that didn't exist, even if Kaname spoke he doubted Zero would hear him. "What in Satan's name happened." he whispered aloud unable to keep his shock to himself.

"Come." was all he got in reply before Zero turned and walked down a dark hallway that seemed to stretch on before Kaname's eyes. The two finally stopped walking once they got to a solid wooden door, markings were left on the once pristine wood signaling the use of charms. "It used to be locked with ancient charms our parents never told us about, we were forbidden from ever going down there." Zero supplied before Kaname could ask, with a little effort the silverette pushed the door open and proceeded to lead Kaname through a maze of stairs and doors until they reached an open room filled with artifacts, locked display cases, an old cluttered desk and bookshelves that reached from floor to ceiling. The room was lit by wall lanterns and reminded the prince of a study room.

"Why did they forbid you?" Kaname eventually questioned still taking in the room, it wasn't small, about the size of a large bedroom or kitchen he figured.

"These," was all Zero responded with at first before setting down a collection of scrolls and an old book that looked as though it hadn't been touched in decades. Before Kaname could ask what 'these' were Zero unbound one of the scrolls and spread it out on the desk. "This is a dark magic scroll, it teaches you how to perform black magic charms or to turn your weapons to being capable of wielding and using dark magic. Lika what Gaashi used." he explained as simply as he could. "Those weapons in the locked cases are two of the few that I can only assume have been changed to perform and wield dark magic." he added on with a tired sigh, Gaashi had a point in saying his family wasn't innocent, quite the opposite rather.

"And the book?" Kaname asked glancing over at the weapons Zero was talking about.

"A detailed drawn-out strategy that kept my clan at the top of the hunters for generations. Though Gaashi was correct in saying we took away her birthright, the reason we did so was justified...the method in which we did not so much. Gaashi was the reincarnated version of someone named Ginha Kaio who was going to be the heir to the Ginha clan had we not used special military tactics and dark magic to first isolate then kill off the members. The way Kaio died was particularly gruesome, she was a child at the time but that didn't mean anything to my clan." Zero sighed as he thumbed over the book's cover. He had forgotten, either because the event was too much for him to handle at the age of seven or because he was forced to. However, reading about the girl, about the dark magic that was used on her, unlocked those memories and let them flood back into his body.

* * *

_Zero walked along the forest's edge, he wasn't allowed to go into them unless accompanied by his parents but they never seemed like a big deal. 'Maybe they're infested with vampires, the bloodthirsty ones that kill humans for fun.' the thought made him shiver and would have sent him back toward his house the safety of his house had he not heard a scream in the distance. It sounded like a little girl crying out for help. 'Maybe she's being attacked!' the idea of a vampire going after a child was not unheard of and it made Zero's blood burn. Deciding to save the girl himself he ran into the woods. His parents were on a mission with Touga, Ichiru was still hospitalized and he was supposed to be under his Uncle's watch but the man had disappeared some time ago. Charging through the woods, gun in hand, he followed the noises of the screams until he found an old shack. The entire property belonged to his family so the idea of a random structure he didn't know about was a little odd. 'But that's where she is.' he decided as he listened in with his hunter training. This is what he was meant to do, to protect others._

_As he walked up to the slightly ajar door he could hear another voice mumbling, it sounded human but it was hard to tell and Zero couldn't make out any words clearly. The girl's cries grew more frantic turning into another ear-piercing scream as a red glow illuminated the room. 'I thought only nobles had powers they could project on others.' the small silverette was growing nervous, he could fight sure but even he had never faced a crazed noble by himself. Finding his Uncle was an option but it would be too late for the little girl, against his better judgment he walked into the shack towards the noise. He could smell blood, lots of it, a thick aroma that could make any normal human sick but Zero was not normal, he was a hunter and this was part of his job. More sobbing propelled his legs forward until he could see through an opening in the door. There was a young girl, maybe two years older than him, chained to the wall by her wrists and ankles. She was dressed well, a kimono belonging to a high-class family know doubt wrapped around her small body. Her hair was smooth and a raven shade of black, probably nicely done at one point but now it matted and tangled behind her; slicked with sweat and blood from visible wounds on her neck and head. Normally tanned legs were cut and bruised, matching the state of her arms, and her face looked as though she had been beaten with something worse than a fist._

_"This will be it." the voice he couldn't make out before sounded much clearer and familiar this time. The girl, opening her tear-stained eyes, looked around and spotted Zero. She was terrified but her eyes glared with such ferocity Zero almost stepped back from the door._

_"My name is Ginha Kaio and I won't forget this!" she screamed as the castor mumbled something unintelligible to Zero and a knife was thrust into the girl's chest, ripping a shriek from her as blood poured from the wound and a glowing purple orb of some sort was extracted from inside her. Her body turned pale, the lifeblood of the girl was left to continue cascading down her royal blue kimono and staining her skin crimson red._

_"It's over, the Ginha Clan will never be able to rise again from this day forward. With this, the Kiryuu Clan will seal the essence of dark magic from this world and further banish all users from hunter past, present and future." a new voice spoke, a voice Zero recognized all too well. He stood frozen in place, only able to stare at the dead child's body as the door opened to reveal two people he didn't believe could cause so much pain to another hunter. Looking up into lilac-amethyst eyes he took a step back, his heart racing but limbs sluggish as his mind tried to comprehend what it has just seen. "Zero-chan...I'm sorry." was all his mother had said before his world went black._

* * *

The hand that shook his shoulder snapped Zero from his memories and centered him back in the room with Kaname looking at him with the smallest hint of concern in his eyes. "Takamiya-kun asked me to bring you back to the academy as quickly as possible. If you have found what you were looking for, I suggest we leave." he voiced as composed as he could muster, whatever had happened to the boy Kaito was right to be worried, Zero had changed and he was visibly less stable than just after his fight with Gaashi. If Kaname had to personally watch him to make sure he got through the night he would. All he received was a numb robotic nod in reply, after allowing the hunter to stand and show him the way out Kaname wrapped an arm around the silverette and flew them back home. Leaving behind the deceivingly welcoming house.

"Everyone thinks vampires are the twisted ones...not so true, is it." the lifeless whisper caught Kaname's attention but he wasn't able to reply before Zero left to his shared room in the moon dorms. The vampire prince, on the other hand, decided a meeting with Cross and Touga was in order.

**A/N: **Wow, and there you have it, Locked Memories. That was a trip believe me and again I apologize it's so late. I hope the length and the content was worth the wait. I will hopefully be coming out with another chapter soon, I am on page 54 of my handwritten portion of this fic and I still have about 9 major points on my plot plan to get through for this story to finish out the way it's going. The fic will not end with Iori and Zero's fight, this isn't a spoiler I'm just going to tell you that after a few days of playing this out in my mind I just don't want it to end there so it's not going to. There's a lot to come, a lot of heavy content and a lot of unexpected surprises that I hope you all are excited to see happen. As previously mentioned I will continue to add warnings, change ratings, and edit things with this fic as I continue with it so if at any time it gets too graphic or too heavy please feel free to skip things. What I don't want to see are complaints of 'you didn't say this was going to be happening in the very beginning in the tags of this fic' yes I know I don't tag every little thing because literally 80% of the tags are made up as I go along. I don't plan I just write and this is what happens. Regardless, (sorry for the mini-rant, it was induced by a very annoying commenter on a different fic but it still applies here and to all my fictions) I hope you all have a wonderful day/evening/night or morning and stay tuned for the next chapter. ~Len


	7. Ch 7: The Dragon's Bullet

**A/N: **Hello hello I'm back from vacation and it's September! I took some inspiration from a couple of books, animes, and mangas that I've read/watched in the past so if it sounds a little like I'm throwing a lot of stuff together when it comes to Zero's developing magic that's probably why. This chapter is where Kaname starts actually taking some steps with Zero, Touga and Kaito are thrown in there as well (obviously) Cross is a little bit side-lined for these parts just because I don't really feel the need to write him in as much. He will become more like a background character for a while until I get closer to the climax of the story. This chapter focuses on Kaito and Seiren's relationship but will have other characters and their interactions as well. If you're not a huge fan of the KaiSei pairing I apologize. Later on things get more interesting as Zero faces Kaname in a supervised training session. His powers are coming together and things are changing inside our favorite hunter.

I'm closing in on page seventy as we speak and since we're only like six chapters in right now and not super close to the climax yet I'm thinking this might be a 15-20 chapter fic. We'll see because things can always change, but that's what you're most likely looking at from where I'm assuming I'll be heading at this moment. As I mentioned previously the **warnings for this chapter are as follows: suicidal thoughts, graphic depictions of violence, self-harm, and severe emotional strain! If reading about these topics endangers you in any way please do not read those sections and always seek out help when you need it. **

Back to the boring stuff, the first quarter of this chapter is a private meeting between Touga and Kaname, further discussing what happened in the last chapter at Zero's family home. I changed Ichiru's story just a bit to fit this story, sorry not sorry to anyone that I may piss off in doing so. I also wanted to say I changed Zero's magic abilities a little bit, made him a little stronger with some things that definitely aren't in the canon anime or manga so if some of the fighting styles and what he can do seems a little OP or not what you're expecting that's because I wanted it to be different and take on another feeling from how I displayed the kind of 'dark hunter' form I had written for Actor since repeating it would be lame and boring. I don't like boring.

And last but not least, I mentioned previously that since Takuma is usually one of the main vampires I like to stick at least in Zero's social circle, if not his main entrance point in why he talks to anyone in the night class at all, that I wanted to stay away from that classic relationship I've written like four or five times now. Again, I don't like to be boring. However, as it is playing out right now either Shiki or Takuma will fill in that role much later on in the fic, I haven't decided if I want both or just one of them and if so which one but that's something you can expect to see later.

That's all for my logistics crap with this chapter my author's notes section will be shorter in the future, I hope you enjoy, I apologize it's so late getting to you and always feel free to comment, review with any **_constructive _**critiques or just what you liked about it if you enjoyed it. Thanks again! ~Len-san

Ch. 7: The Dragon's Bullet

Touga sighed as he sensed the vampire approaching his door, he had a feeling that something had happened over the night with Zero but he knew Kaito likely stepped in and had Kuran follow the young adult. He would have almost expected the vampire sooner but this was Zero and Kaito he was talking about, neither of them asked for help unless they were dying. Kuran most likely was coming to him without their knowledge. "What do you want." though he opted to abandon his normal name-calling of 'bloodsucker' or 'vampire' that didn't mean he would talk friendly with one of the damn beings.

"I have questions concerning Kiryuu-kun's childhood and his family past. In exchange, I can give you full details of what was discussed and what state the boy is in." despite that he was Zero's former sensei and a good friend of the family, Kaname didn't expect the grumpy older hunter to simply give him information without a price. Touga gave him a once over before putting out his cigarette and leaning back in his chair. 'A silent agreement but an agreement nonetheless.' the pureblood momentarily mused as he sat across the large wooden desk.

"You went to their house." a statement more than anything. He wasn't a vampire but you always knew when someone was in the Kiryuu home, especially after their passing, the air around them changes in one of two ways. Either it's homey and inviting or dark and haunted. Touga could tell Kaname had found out some of the secrets likely kept for years in the Kiryuu walls by the way the vampire felt.

"Zero brought me there, not necessarily by choice but I wasn't about to simply leave him there after I found out. It seemed he had done as much digging as he could handle before I arrived. That's not to say there wasn't more that he found out and didn't tell me of. Takamiya-kun speculated there would be some memories that haven't been addressed yet uncovered and I'm inclined to agree." the pureblood began, there was no point in trying to hide from a hunter that knew the Kiryuus so well.

"What did he tell you." though the elder hunter's voice was softer than Kaname had ever heard it, he knew the question was no less of a demand than if the man had screamed it.

"He told me of the reason Gaashi was after him and why she knew who he was, even though they had never met. He believes she was the reincarnation of someone named Ginha Kaio." Kaname explained not missing the way the hunter's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"You are positive that's the name he said?" he questioned staring into the young pureblood vampire with such intensity Kaname almost shuddered.

"Yes, he mentioned the Ginha clan would have been a problem if the Kiryuu's hadn't killed them off, specifically Ginha Kaio." he answered before waiting to see what the hunter said. A long stretch of silence went on, keeping the air tense and deathly quiet.

"Did he mention anything else, or _show _you anything?" the question hung in the air for as moment as Kaname assessed the hunter's state and ran through a mental list of possible reactions. None he came up with were particularly ideal. He would consider himself incredibly lucky to walk out of the room unharmed.

"Yes, he showed me what he called 'Dark Magic scrolls' and weapons crafted by his parents meant specifically to wield such magic." Kaname spoke calmly, waiting for something to happen. Touga however just sat there for a moment lost in the fog of his thoughts.

"I see, and what was it you wanted to know exactly?" he asked after his eyes came back to stare at Kaname clearly.

"What does this mean for Zero-kun moving forward and what is the story of Ginha Kaio's death." he voiced carefully. He could tell the hunter wasn't as stable as he was when he first entered the room. Something was very wrong and it seemed the hunters were the only ones that knew what was going to happen.

"Nothing good. The memories unlocked at that house, reading those scrolls combined with the encounter with Gaashi means we will have problems on our hands. Zero's parents spent their lives trying to protect the boys from the world of dark magic, not because they would ever use it but because of what they did to Ginha Kaio and how they used Zero's life to kill her." Kaname's eyes narrowed as the man before him put out his cigarette on the table and stared through him to another world.

"What do you mean by that?" now it was Kaname's turn to demand answers, that was the reason he went to the hunter in the first place.

"Zero didn't have anything to do with her murder, not physically anyway though he still witnessed it, but he was used to make sure her existence and the essence of dark magic would be destroyed in our world. What Ginha Kaio carried in her soul was the essence of dark magic, what that means is as long as she lived dark magic would also thrive freely mixed in with hunter blood. It was the reason the Usaki clan was so powerful to begin with and would have been unrivaled of dark magic continued to progress in the hunters. Most of the Usaki and Ginha clans were demolished before they could come into full power, in result the dark essence took to choosing hosts, like a parasite, in order to thrive. Unlike normal magic dark magic is alive, it moves through you and takes over your being. You're not necessarily born with it but you can let it reside in you for an exchange. That's what the Kiryuus did, in exchange for the ability to use dark magic Zero's mother gave up her purity and half the life source of her second born son. Little did she know she would have twins later on."Touga began after lighting another so-called cancer stick.

"That, I assume, would be Ichiru. Zero's brother." Kaname stated more than asked but got a nod in response anyway.

"Yes, Ichiru was deprived of nearly all traces of hunter origin and had many medical issues because of it. To say it was a hard bargain would be a grave understatement, but it was necessary in order to defeat the rivaling clans. The Kiryuus learned the new host was a girl, a child named Ginha Kaio, so they captured and tortured her until they could forcefully remove the dark magic essence from within her. Dark magic is not something you can destroy outside of a body though, the only time it is powerless it when it is sealed inside an unknowing host. The only eligible host at the time would be a pure Kiryuu. One who knew nothing of its existence and was strong enough to keep it dormant. Zero was an unwilling but easy target. His mother sealed the dark magic inside him; a hunter without magic is dead, your past, present and future vanish and you're left to disappear into death. That is what happened to Ginha Kaio. Only those who were there, myself and Cross know anything about her. At least that was until Gaashi showed up. I suspect remnants of her past magic came to the surface when triggered by Usaki Iori. Dark magic can come alive again in the right circumstances though it will never be as strong until the essence becomes active and takes over its current host. That is why Zero was able to kill Gaashi so easily." Touga sighed, talking about the locked up skeletons of the Kiryuus really wasn't on his list of ways he liked to spend leisure time.

"Then where does that leave Kiryuu-kun, if he holds the essence inside him would it not be awakened by Gaashi's presence?" the prince questioned thinking back to what the silverette had said when asked about the scar caused by Gaashi's magic.

"Not if she didn't land any charms on him. Knowing about the scrolls is concerning but without active dark magic in him he should be able to keep it dormant." he didn't miss the small hint of concern in the vampire's tone, something about it threw him off. "What happened during their fight?" he decided to press only growing more concerned at the stretch of silence that caught the room in a tense air.

"She landed an attack successfully, he used it to kill her but mentioned her magic felt alive in his body even though the initial wound healed." Kaname confessed to the silent man on the other side of the table.

"I see." was all that was said, accompanied by a defeated sigh. Not the reaction Kaname was expecting, he wasn't sure what he should do or say. "We can't do anything about it once the dark magic essence wakens. We will have to keep an eye on Zero's magic, once it goes dark there will be no way to bring him back." the man explained further, his eye resting in a haze.

Zero walked into the bathroom he shared with Kaito and pulled his shirt off to look at the strange marking left by Gaashi's magic. There was something strange going on inside him. Everything he touched felt as though electricity was coursing through it, noises became so much louder and he noticed there was a new development to his abilities. Auras, he could read emotions as though they were holding up signs in front of him. It was confusing at first, especially with Aido and Ruka, but he was getting used to it slowly. The more time he spent around the moon dorms the easier it became to anticipate what they would say or do. Kain, Shiki, and Takuma were fairly easy to read, Kaname was an enigma still but he was slowly learning what to expect from the pureblood. That being said he was acting strangely, it started a night or two after they visited his home, the vampire had begun watching him far more intensely than usual but it wasn't with hatred or disdain as he was used to. It was something else. "How are you feeling today Kaito-kun?" Seiren was asking as said hunter was waking up for the evening, he had fully transitioned to a night schedule in case Zero needed him at any time.

"I've felt worse, and I've felt much better. Are you going to class tonight?" he questioned both vampires in the room.

"I will not be, I am on strict orders to supervise you until you are able to function without medical assistance." Seiren answered stoically as the hunters expected. Kaito's brow twitched but that was all the indication about his annoyance as his lacking ability he gave.

"I'm not required to go to class but Touga wants me there this week, apparently he asked Kuran to stay after class so we can train." the silverette sighed, he didn't mind training usually but the idea of doing any type of magical training with the pureblood made him uneasy. Lord knew what Kuran would do. The pureblood was known for his mental prowess and ruthless tendencies, not to mention he and the older vampire weren't on the best of terms most of the time. 'I'll be lucky if he doesn't kill me.' he sighed to himself as he began to get dressed for the evening, it would be a long one he was sure.

"Train huh? I'm surprised Kuran would agree to that, are you ready for that intense of a session?" the ashen-brown haired hunter inquired with a look of concern towards his friend. The half shrug he received in response was hardly comforting. "Let me know how it goes, and say something if it gets to be too much for you to take right now. You're still in recovery too you know." the older reminded as he watched his friend move around to get ready.

"Hnn." was all he answered with before the silverette walked out of the room to meet the other night class members downstairs. Once again he felt the burning eyes of the dorm president as he walked into the main hall. He wanted to snap at the vampire, make him stop staring even for a damn minute. But he wasn't stupid, and he'd rather not start off the night a target for the older to take his anger out on even before they trained.

"Do you believe he will be alright?" Seiren looked at the hunter before her as he watched the doorway where Zero once was. Once upon a time she thought hunters were just selfish, uncaring rogue-like bandits that would do anything for a shred of glory or money. But as she talked with Kaito, night after night, she learned just how much he and the perfect she once assumed had no trace of a heart cared about each other. Zero would supply her with food Kaito was allowed to have while in recovery and showed her what to do should any of the alarms go off. His medical knowledge was impressive, she later learned from Kaito it was because of how often his brother ended up in the hospital after catching a cold or straining himself too much. Her conversations with Zero didn't stretch much more than niceties and explanations of what caring for Kaito really meant, but she could hear how much Zero honestly did worry for his friend and how much it meant to him that she was taking care of him in his own absence. 'The boy has far more on his plate than what was ever thought between us nobles.' she thought.

"He better be alright, Zero's an amazing fighter but at the moment he's in pain and far from ready to take on much mental assault. Kuran, like most purebloods, isn't exactly what I would call considerate for fragility in others. Even though he won't be killed, Zero might come away from this with more harm done to him than good. It looks like he's already anticipating that." Kaito sighed turning to look at the silent noble. He was learning how to open up to her, mainly about Zero but also with his own struggles, it was relieving to have an open ear all the time. But she was still a vampire, a loyal right hand of Kuran, as nice as she was being it was likely due to orders from the pureblood.

"What is it?" came the question as though his thoughts were written all over his face. Did he really want to know if he was right or not? He wasn't sure. Their easy dynamic might change if she were to confirm his fears. And what if she didn't? Those were the real questions. He was nervous to know the answers but he wasn't known for beating around the bush at the end of the day and he couldn't just keep and dwell like Zero did. He assumed that's why he and his friend struggled differently, and why he was easy to read while Zero was less open than the ancient ruins of the association.

"Why are you here, talking to me like this I mean. Kuran only ordered you to keep watch over us, assist if needed or when necessary. You don't have to pretend to like us, you don't even need to tolerate us. So why are you doing it? Why bother to do more than the minimum need for creatures you don't even like." he voiced eventually, he didn't need to look at the vampire to guess her stoic expression hadn't changed. The two sat in silence, one waiting with bated breath while the other took in what was just said and formulated an answer.

"I was instructed to watch over you and assist with any needs you have while recovering. However talking and getting to know you and Zero-kun is no one's wish aside from my own. Hunters are so different from us, you and Zero live so easily among humans and yet it is inevitable that we will clash time and time again. Why is it so difficult for us when as individuals you two are by far the most interesting beings here. It has nothing to do with political interest or power alliances, I simply want to know who Takamiya Kaito and Kiryuu Zero are outside of the hunter titles. I wish to understand and be able to continue this ease even when I am not ordered to keep watch over you." Seiren eventually explained to the hunter before there was another pause, however this time there wasn't any tension as Kaito turned to look at her. His words caught in his throat as he noticed her, really noticed her for the first time. Lilac hair framed her face perfectly matching almost pastel purple eyes; with unearthly grace she looked at him, waiting, but he was too caught on how the moon grazed her pale skin making her look soft and gentle.

"Beautiful." he mumbled as he shamelessly stared. For so long he forced himself to see vampires in one way, the creatures that caused his brother to suffer until he was forced to be put out of the world. But Seiren was different, all the sudden it didn't matter that she was Kuran's noble, or that she was a vampire at all. The dust of blush that snuck onto her cheeks enhanced her innocent image. "I'm sur5e you hear that quite often...sorry." the hunter added on scratching the back of his head. Even if he were to pursue the idea of a friendship with her, he was still a hutner. A type of being viewed even worse than humans in some cases. His chances of her agreeing were slim.

"Sometimes, usually all the fan attention goes to Aido, Kaname-sama, Takuma and the others. I'm too focused for most humans to approach me and even most vampires are wary because of my nature..." she replied looking out the window to avoid eye contact with the male.

"Well, it's true, you are beautiful, not that it means much coming from a hunter but..." the boy shrugged, unsure of how to finish the thought.

"It does, arguably more it means more coming from you. One of the most noted things about you, Zero-kun, and Yagari-sensei is that you don't notice people the same way. You're not interested in looks or status may it be vampires, humans, or other hunters, and it's hard to make one of you like any of us more that formalities and civil interactions. You and Zero-kun are quite notorious for more than just your hunting abilities in the vampire community." the noble confessed, to her surprise Kaito laughed and smiled up at her.

"Yeah, we tend to get focused on out jobs and because it's so unpredictable is we will come home whenever we leave it makes it hard to have relationships that pass keeping everyone at an arm's length. We can't even think about loving a human that doesn't know anything of the hunter and vampire world. Usually marriage is out of necessity otherwise we would die out too quickly." though he spoke like it was no large deal or uncommon, to Seiren the idea of being so limited and wary was odd. Vampires could have whomever they wished, it was hard to marry up in ranks but human, vampire, or hunter didn't matter in the long run. Although lower beings were somewhat frowned upon no one could say anything about it. Hunters had it much harder. "Sometimes it's easier to pretend love is just a novelty concept so we don't have to face our reality with it." the hunter added on with a shrug as he sat up against his headboard a little more and leaned on the window.

"What if someone likes you?" she wondered aloud tilting her head to the side ever so slightly.

"Then we usually choose to ignore it depending on the circumstances. It's easier to reject someone and be disliked or hated than it is to explain to someone our reality and force them to live that way." it wasn't a privilege to be a hunter, they were gifted humans with enhanced ability and magic but it often felt as though they were a cursed species. They didn't belong to the humans or the vampire community, an in-between that had to take on the dirty tasks of both species with little pleasurable outcome or decent quality of life.

"Even if it's a vampire that likes you?" Seiren asked looking pointedly at the hunter. If the boy would accept her maybe she could make both their lives less lonely. She had Kaname, Kaito had Zero, but being there for another was not the same as a real love interest. Not to mention the two powers were rarely in need and were often unable to be touched or helped in the way they needed by others. 'They are quite alike for being almost complete opposites.' she thought.

"The idea of a vampire that's sane courting a hunter is rare unless they have ulterior motives but...I suppose it would be far easier than trying to date a human." Kaito answered looking over at the noble and giving her a small shrug. Seiren gave him a small nervous smile in return. Kaito was so captivated by the vampire before him he forgot he was supposed to be worrying about his best friend who was about to face Kaname in a training session.

As Kaname looked at the silverette standing before him, uniform blazer thrown to the side, he wondered if starting any type of physical or mental training was a good idea. He still looked so weak and disoriented. Kaname had been watching him closely since they returned from Zero's former home for any type of negative change. The hunter didn't mention any changes but Kaname wasn't convinced he would say anything even if something did change. Zero wasn't that type of hunter. 'Will this be too much for him?' the pureblood wondered as he half-listened to what Touga was telling the younger hunter. 'Why am I worried about a level D hunter...he means nothing more than my knight piece for whatever is to come. He is Yuuki's protector, my pawn, that is all I should be concerned about. His life benefits me but it is not necessary.' he told himself mentally shaking his head and tuning back in on the conversation the hunters were having.

"If it gets to be too much I want you to stop. This is not meant for you to waste energy and abilities when your opponent is at full health and power. Understand?" Touga asked with a narrowed eye towards his former student. Zero nodded and stepped up to face the vampire. Kaname felt a surge through his body when determined fiery amethyst eyes met his. A look he hadn't seen in days. Not one he was used to, something entirely different that caused his body to react in ways he couldn't explain.

"Are you ready?" Kaname questioned in a much huskier voice than he intended. Zero's eyes narrowed a bit but he nodded an affirmative preparing for either a mental or physical assault. Whatever the vampire could give him, even if he couldn't fight it, he was ready. The air went still and cold as they waited for a signal.

"Fight on!" Touga called out before a flurry of magic encased the grounds.

Within moments Kaname moved, a physical attack, the pureblood swung at him and only just met with Zero's block before his leg was in motion to swipe the silverette off his feet. That too was slow enough for the younger to move out of the way and retaliate with his own strike, even if he was going to get beat he would not stand in a defensive position the entire time. 'Is he going easy on me?' he questioned as again there was a successful block. Kaname wasn't weak by any means and the hunter was positive he would be bruised and sore by the time this ended but the pureblood wasn't moving as fast or striking as much as he could. Was this pity? Anger flared within Zero as he dodged and landed a fist on the older's shoulder, effectively shoving him back and fracturing the bone. "Why the hell are you going easy on me?!" he growled out as the two leapt back from each other to prepare for another faceoff. His fracture already healed, Kaname brought his aura to life. 'I can't block his aura, but Rose's bullets can weaken his abilities even without directly harming him.' Even though the vampire could likely take a few bullets and be just fine this was a training session and Zero wasn't out to cause any harm to him. Even if he managed to do so it would cause more issues with the surrounding vampires.

'He's faster than usual, he doesn't realize it though. Is this what dark magic does? Takes over without the user even knowing?' Kaname's eyes narrowed as he watched the silverette move dodge his aura's strikes, glancing over at Touga to see if they should continue or not the vampire barely caught the glimpse of Zero's gun being aimed so swiftly before the trigger was pulled. His aura coming to block the projectile was hit and erupted in flames.

'Ryūdan, **(A/N: This is a very rough translation Ryu translating to the mythical creature resembling the dragon and Dangan translating to bullet, to anyone that speaks Japanese I apologize. I only took two years of it) **the dragon's bullet, it's not dark magic but still powerful enough without the additional help. Has he always known that charm or is the dark magic teaching him unconsciously...' Touga wondered as he watched while Kaname, stunned but still unharmed, worked quickly to smother the flames. 'If this is just the beginning of Zero's real power, before he gains dark magic then we may have quite the problem when the Dark Essence takes over.' the elder elite hunter sighed to himself. It would soon be too dangerous to continue allowing his former student to practice his abilities even against a powerful pureblood such as Kuran. "Enough! The match is called. Zero, come with me, Kuran go return to the moon dorms. I'm sure the nobles will have a fit otherwise." he called firing a single shot between the two vampires to gain their attention. Zero nodded, Rose already back in her holster with the safety secured, as he picked up his discarded clothes and left with the older hunter. Kaname watched him leave, the feeling of that last attack still dancing on his body, how powerful was Zero really? Had he really been so naive to his abilities?

"He is a hunter first. And one of the best left in this country...He is not a raging child anymore Kaname, perhaps it is time you noticed more than just his vampire status." Cross' words popped into his head causing the vampire to grimace to himself. The Headmaster was certainly getting his wish, Kaname was noticing. Now if he could only stop his body from trying to get ahead of his brain. If there was one thing purebloods were helplessly attracted to besides blood it was power, his assumption of Zero being a weak level D successfully incinerated created a new feeling towards the hunter. Need. And he doubted if the nobles witnessed anything like he just did there was going to be a mad race to claim the young adult for themselves. 'You were right Cross, Zero is no longer a chess piece, he is the end trophy.' a devious smile crossed Kaname's lips, fangs unconsciously extended and eyes glowing before he regained his control and walked into the moon dorms. Preparing subconsciously to face the nobles bout of questions.

**A/N: **There we are! Chapter 7 and I'm actually pretty pleased with how this one came out if I'm honest. Again I apologize for the rough translations, as I mentioned I only took like two years of Japanese and my partner (currently asleep on the couch) is fluent but unconscious while I'm writing this. I really hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I hope everything with the Dark Magic v. Dark Essence makes sense and isn't too confusing. The next chapter will be focused heavily on Zero's inner thoughts and turmoils, Kaname's new and now acknowledged feelings towards the hunter and KaiSei pairing will be in the background. Let me know if you think this is a good length to keep the chapters at? Are they too much? Too short? I always look forward to hearing from you all as readers since it all makes sense in my brain already.


	8. Ch 8: Summoner

**A/N: **Hello wonderful humans! It's officially October, my favorite month of the year, and so to celebrate that I'm coming out with another chapter for you all! In this chapter Kaito's relationship with Seiren is finally fully established witch you will see in the beginning-ish of the chapter then we delve into discussion time with Kaname and Zero before things take a turn for the hotter. After this chapter, I'll start incorporating more of the nobles into the story but I will likely not give them as much detail or "screen time" as I did with Kaito and Seiren until later on. Aaand to piggyback off my last chapter, this one really goes into some of Zero's other abilities that I mentioned previously are inspired by a collection of other manga and animes. Also, I wanted to give a huge thank you to all my readers and those that review but especially Sake; thank you so much for reading and commenting, I really appreciate it. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and I'll see you all again soon! ~Len-kun

ch. 8: Summoner

Kaito looked over at the door as he heard it open, Zero walked in looking relatively alright aside from being tired and a bit bruised. 'At least there are no major wounds...but still...' the older studied as his partner moved around the room effortlessly. There was an odd air around him, as though he wasn't really paying attention to what he was doing or where he was. "How'd it go?" Kaito asked after watching the other a little longer.

"Better than expected, Touga called me to meet with him after and asked me how I knew of the Ryūdan charm which I used during the spar. He mentioned something about holding another session in a couple days to give us some rest. He wants me to cut down on mission too, but didn't tell me why." came the answer with a sigh as the silverette laid on top of his bed. "And you? Holding up still?" Kaito snorted and rolled his eyes but nodded still.

"It's been about as tolerable as bed rest can be. Seiren-san said I should be able to get up in another day or so, I'm looking forward to being able to walk to more than the bathroom for once." he answered causing Zero to smirk in amusement. "How much time do you figure you have until Iori comes knocking on our door?" the older questioned seriously, he would need to be fully functional by the time it happened if he wanted to be of any use for the aftermath he was sure.

"Who knows, probably not very long now that Gaashi is dead, I have a feeling he wanted her to die first and give me some time to learn about it before he shows up." Zero answered thinking back to the old books he had read through. Iori wasn't stupid, he knew who Gaashi was, who she used to be and made contact for a reason. Then he waited for her to be killed and the secrets to be learned. 'It won't be long now, he knows.' the silverette thought before there was a knock at the door. "I didn't think you were one to knock." he voiced as Seiren opened the door to reveal the vampire prince in the hallway looking as emotionless as ever. Zero didn't miss the ways his eyes narrowed a fraction at his comment but the irritation left as quickly as it came.

"If you would come with me Kiryuu-kun." it didn't take a genius to know it was an indirect order. Not wishing to get into an argument with the vampire Zero sighed and got up before telling Kaito he'd return soon and leaving with the older.

"Where do you think they're off to?" Kaito questioned to Seiren as she closed the door behind them and returned to her previous position laying with the hunter.

"Most likely to the study room, that's where all the discussions take place. They'll likely be gone for a while." she answered pressing her lips to the hunter's neck softly.

"Then we can pick up where we left off." he tipped her head up to connect her lips to his own. The soft moan that escaped from her only urged him further, sliding the unoccupied hand up her side and tangled it into her shirt as she pressed against him. She breathed in the scent of cinnamon, mint, and a hint of metal as his finger caressed her body. She was not used to physical affection, she didn't touch others, but Kaito was different. He was gentle at times and rough just where she needed. His broad sculpted body felt as though it could crush her with such security she didn't know existed.

"What will happen when they find out?" she gasped out as the two parted for breath. The others would not be oblivious to the scent changes, nor the marks left on even a noble's skin when they've been claimed. It was only a matter of time that it would come to light.

"Whatever happens will happen, Zero won't care and Kuran trusts your decisions. The nobles might not like it but when have we begged for their approval anyway. Cross would be elated." Kaito answered with a shrug, truthfully he didn't care, they would deal with whatever came. That being said, Cross would be a headache.

"Of course." Seiren smiled for the nth time that night with complete trust in her partner that he was right and they would be fine at the end of the evening.

"Idiot." Zero mumbled as he rolled his eyes after hearing his friend. Kaname's mouth felt the urge to twitch in amusement. Seiren was almost as untouchable as a pureblood when it came to her standing in the vampire community. And yet a hunter such as Kaito so easily broke down her walls.

"Apparently no one told them only my room and the study are soundproof to vampire hearing." he mused taking a seat at his desk. Zero rolled his eyes and took up the chair that had been placed on the other side.

"Why am I here." he questioned quickly snapping back to his own situation and trying not to hear the noises coming from his shared bedroom.

"Would you wish to go back to your room at the moment?" Kaname raised an eyebrow at the hunter. The glare he received was enough of an answer to that.

"You know what I meant, why did you bring me to your study regardless that I'm now trapped outside of my room." he half growled out.

"I was asked to help you, but I cannot fully do that while being left out of information. What is it that you and Touga discussed." the brunette questioned seriously as the two became locked in a silent staredown, though it wasn't hostile it was still very clear to Kaname that the silverette wasn't comfortable diving into the details.

"Why are you pretending to care? Hell, why are you even involved in all this to begin with?!" he questioned back crossing his arms, sure he was a level D about to go into a deathmatch with a hunter but this was Kuran. The only thing he cared about was Yuuki and she wasn't involved this time. Technically no one other than him and Iori were involved.

"If you didn't want me here you wouldn't have shown me what you found at your old house, subconsciously or not, you are the one that asked for my assistance more than anyone else." he was twisting the story a bit but he was sure the younger wasn't aware of all the events that transpired at his former home. Zero clenched his fists slightly as another minute of silence passed between them.

"This doesn't concern you directly. And no, I'm not putting others in danger. However, since you don't know how to let things go apparently, all we discussed was about the last skill I used on you and other charms specific to my family background. Ryūdan is a charm that was invented by my father that wasn't necessarily allowed to be used against vampires outside of heavy combat zones. The version I used is largely a stun to be used against higher-ranking nobles or purebloods, the original version was meant to burn the central target as well as spread to any surrounding vampires and render them ash. He wanted to know how I knew it, and if I knew the original charm. Or any other that are considered illegal." the silverette sighed not wishing to be lectured again. Kaname wondered if he should press the question considering how sensitive he knew the other to be about the subjects circling his parents or brother.

'But he is an adult now, maybe he will take it better than before.' the other half of the vampire's brain reasoned. "Do they put you in danger?" he decided to ask instead, noting the way lilac-amethyst eyes blinked in confusion at him for a moment. 'He's not as guarded around us as he used to be.' Kaname realized with a spark of hope jumping into his head. Maybe it was possible for them to get somewhere.

"Since when does that matter?" the odd question had caught him off guard, it was as though the pureblood was truly concerned. Even with his enhanced aura reading Zero couldn't find another emotion aside from wonder. 'But that doesn't explain why he's concerned.' he reminded himself.

"You are planning to fight a hunter of a caliber you're not fully aware of, even though you are powerful if the charms you are using cause either external or internal, even mental, damage that could cost you your life Kiryuu-kun. Despite that you are not a noble nor a vampire in direct loyalty to me it is still part of my duty to be aware of all vampires that inhabit the places near me. Whether you enjoy it or not that includes you. Hunter or not." Kaname answered giving the other an honest, or at least mostly honest, answer was much easier than intimidation he found when Zero seemed to nod in understanding.

"Frankly if I were you I wouldn't bother worrying too much about the recoils of the charms I plan on using. They are nothing in comparison to the damage the weapons can do to another being, hunter or vampire. Unlike against you, and this is partially why training is somewhat useless, I won't be using Rose or charms. I have another full arsenal of tactics to be used against both hunter or human nature if needed. Weapons specific to me tied by a bond that can't be removed and will die along with me. That is what I plan to use on Usaki Iori when the time comes." Zero supplied wondering where the pureblood was going exactly. There didn't seem to be a large endpoint or any mind game behind his questions. It was as though he just wanted a real conversation between the two of them. 'What's going on?' he asked himself almost missing what Kaname asked next.

"Will you show me?" as soon as the words left his mouth Zero's eyes widened in shock.

"Are you mad?! A small space like this could get destroyed by the pressure alone, besides they're not weapons to make light of, they could harm and even kill you!" he was so surprised Zero didn't realize the concern that sounded clearly to Kaname, he didn't notice how open he was becoming with the pureblood nor did he realize how said vampire's eyes sparked at the idea of such powerful weapons.

"I assure you I am as sane as any other pureblood currently walking around. If this is too small then let's go somewhere more open. I assure I will take care in not getting harmed but even if that should occur you have charms to block the smell of blood don't you?" wine-colored eyes slid over the face of the hunter before him before landing directly in his gem-like hues.

"I do, but even so...are you sure you want to risk yourself over something like this?" lilac eyes stared into his own with such strength many a time and yet the soft and concerned Zero was something Kaname could most definitely get used to. He nodded after a few moments of the two being enthralled with one another, one out of surprise and one out of awe. "Alright, then I suppose we should get going." the silverette sighed running a hand through his hair. He blinked and realized the scenery had changed, he had no clue where they were but he was _very _aware of the heat coming off the older vampire in contrast to the cold air. He shivered at the sensation before pulling away and setting up charms on the nearby trees to prevent any outsiders from knowing they were there.

Kaname watched as Zero set up a marked area, his movements were smooth and confident, despite having reserves in the study room it seemed as though he was comfortable. "You're not nervous." the brunette stated once the younger had finished and they stood across from each other.

"I can't be." was all he replied before a faint glow started blooming around him. "What I'm about to do it something called Summoner, the weapon of my choosing will come forth until I send them back to the other world. Each weapon had special tactics, far more deadly than anything I can do with Rose. However, because of this, control is essential otherwise I could kill us both." silver hair started to blow in a non-existent wind as the glow shone brighter and his eyes hyper-focused onto the vampire. A sight Kaname had never seen from another being.

'I wonder if this is what level E's see before they are killed by him.' he wondered, Zero never looked at anything without some intensity in his eyes but the feeling the younger was giving him was something the pureblood never felt. Subconsciously his aura started to react, creating something akin to a shield around him. 'I'm becoming defensive? He hasn't even done anything. If this is the feeling of his true aura just how powerful are these weapons of his...am I in danger?' Kaname questioned sliding into a defensive stance, his senses heightened, waiting for an attack with his heart pounding.

"As your Summoner, I call you to fight, Daitan!" the silverette voiced closing his eyes as he seemed to pull a blade out of thin air. The blade appeared to be a traditional tachi***** at first but Kaname noticed some modifications had been added to the horseback sword. More than the sword itself however the vampire found himself struggling against a magic pressure he'd never felt.

"What is that." he demanded, attempting not to show any sign of struggle to the younger.

"This is Daitan, a modified version of a tachi equipped with magic. That pressure you feel is raw waves of magic that will render most vampires or hunters useless. Magic, unlike charms, is personal to each user. It doesn't matter who you are, Daitan will have the same effect on any enemy. She also enhances my speed and her draw when done correctly and quickly doesn't have to touch you to cut you. A specific set of element manipulation charms are used with her to cause maximum destruction of the central and surrounding areas. Now I'm not going to draw her but if I were to do so not even you would be able to see her blade. That is due to the modified sheath I personally crafted." Zero replied keeping his distance from the pureblood until he mumbled something Kaname didn't catch and the sword dispersed into tiny glowing particles and vanished. As soon as it was gone the pressure on Kaname released significantly, leaving him amazed, heart still thundering in his chest as he approached this person he thought he knew for so long. Reaching out a hand to touch the silverette Zero backed up. "Don't. Even like this, without a weapon in hand, my raw magic could still hurt you." he warned but the pureblood paid no heed as he grabbed the younger's wrist and pinned him to the closest tree in a breathtaking speed. Zero, however, didn't seem to be fazed at the change of positions. Kaname felt his skin burn where it came in contact with the other's, pain was not a word he knew on a physical level but he assumed the sensation he was getting would be close to the definition of it. However, more than the pain Kaname felt his heart continuing to sound loudly, his head was spinning with a carnal desire.

'I'm sorry Kiryuu-kun, but I can't allow anyone else to know you like this, this power and brilliance will be mine alone to witness.' he thought before his breath was on the younger's neck, fangs elongated and ready to puncture through the soft skin that held the blood of such a being that even the prince of vampires desired. He didn't hear the gasp of pain or feel Zero's free hand clawing as his clothes begging him to let go. As he drank even the hunter's blood felt like it was on fire, scorching his mouth and burning his throat. It hurt but he continued until he could feel the younger becoming slower in movements. Reaching a hand up he sliced his own flesh igniting Zero's need for blood. It took only seconds for the silverette's fangs to pierce through and begin taking the older's blood in return. As the two drank and their full blood bond formed Kaname felt another need arise in him.

'He can't seriously be doing this. A full blood bond with a level D is suicide! Especially a level D about to face death head-on in a matter of days. This has to be a mistake. And what about Yuuki? What are the nobles going to think about this? I might be skinned alive before Iori even gets here. Fucking Kuran! How stupid can you get?!' the silver-haired hunter panicked in his mind as soon as his rational thought came back from blood loss. As he opened his eyes, unknowing of when he shut them, Zero realized just how close he and the other were. He could feel Kaname's heartbeat against his own chest, the heat coming off him in waves sent a shiver through his core. There was something strangely enchanting about their position. He was pressed so close it almost made wearing clothes uncomfortable. 'What the hell is happening to me?' confusion filled his brain for a moment before it was gone and replaced by an overwhelming heat. Kaname's hand, he realized, was the source if such dizzying sensation as it caressed his skin under his shirt. Breaking away from the pureblood's neck he gasped for breath with a sharp intake of air as that hand tore open his shirt, leaving him free to be touched wherever the older vampire pleased. "What are you-" his voice was cut off by Kaname's lips covering his own.

"Don't think, just feel." was all the pureblood replied with as he pulled away for a moment to breathe. The older's arm circled around Zero's smaller yet built frame, breath caught in his throat as electricity sparked along his skin from the touch. His mind was going numb and every thought he had to stop or protest the prince's actions died long before he could voice them. Heat was rising in his body, despite that they were outside he felt the need to shed his clothes. "Shall we return to the moon dorms?" Kaname's voice rumbled, husky and smooth at the same time.

"The perfect's quarters, my room is still open, the nobles don't need to know just yet." Zero answered between breaths as the vampire continued to nip and suck at his skin. A 'hnn' was all he received before he found himself only half-clothed and pressed against a soft mattress instead of the tree he had gotten used to. The brunette had also stripped his top half and laid himself over the younger vampire.

There wasn't room to talk as fangs clashed together and their body temperatures rose to new heights, both of them fighting for a dominance that neither really cared for. They were the alphas of their fields but in the bedroom it didn't matter. Kaname had worked off the hunter's belt, slipping black pants off toned smooth legs made the prince far harder than he would admit. "More." Kaname's eyes flashed crimson at the other's soft-spoken yet powerful demand. He was willing to give himself to Kaname, even if it meant sacrificing his pride this once. Without hesitation the pureblood obliged. His appreciation for the sight before him showed in quick movements to take the rest of their clothing off. Zero's mind went white and blank as he felt Kaname enter him. It hurt, closing his eyes again and biting down on his hand to keep his scream silent. Arching his back off the bead to ease the pain.

"Beautiful." Kaname mumbled in his ear causing a red flush to spread across the silverette's cheeks. The prince waited until hazy lilac-amethyst eyes opened again and looked at him clouded in need before he proceeded. He wanted this, badly, but he would be careful with his bonded partner. Zero wasn't just anyone.

"You know you essentially just signed your own death certificate..." the younger voiced as the two laid in bed, still trying to fully catch their breath again.

"You mean because of the vampire community? They'll get over it. The nobles will too...eventually." came the casual reply, wine eyes stared across the expanse of Zero's chest.

"No, I mean because I'm a level D, I'm not meant to live very long even with hunter aid and your blood. Not even you, nor any other pureblood, will be able to come out of the effects of a broken bond. You've seen what it turns vampires into, but unlike Shizuka you will be much harder to put an end to." Zero spoke in a somber tone as he stared out the window to the fading moon. It would be sunrise soon and even if Kaito didn't question where he was the nobles would certainly say something about Kaname's missing presence.

"I don't expect you to die that easily, even against a hunter like Iori. I believe you will survive." the pureblood had trust in him. Something he once thought would be impossible to give to someone of Zero's vampire status, and yet it developed and strengthened to the point that he could openly say he believed in the younger. Zero sighed and shook his head to clear his mind a bit before getting up.

"We should get back, the others will notice soon enough. I wouldn't be surprised if they're up still waiting for you." he mused as he went to find his clothes. Kaname's eyes narrowed as he watched the other move around the room a bit.

"There's something you're not telling me." he said eventually effectively making the silverette pause for a moment. After a short silence Zero looked at him, broken down walls and pleading eyes, it alarmed Kaname so much he got up immediately and pulled the smaller vampire into his chest.

"Just promise me...promise me that no matter what happens to me you'll protect the others. I can't explain it, I don't know what it is, but something is happening and I'm not going to be able to protect you from it." it was a broken whisper, if Kaname didn't know better he would think his silver-haired angel was crying.

**A/N: **I just wanted to go over a couple of things in this last chapter, first off the name Daitan means bold or daring, which I think fits well with the magic abilities I gave her. Secondly a ***Tachi, for those of you that don't know, is a traditional sword with a strong curve that used to be used most commonly in battle on horseback it's slightly longer and far more curved than the traditional Katana (aka the samurai sword) that most everyone knows, however, the tachi was introduced first.** There's you short little history lesson brought to you by yours truly, I hope it was helpful and if you already knew what it was well most people don't read end notes anyway right? Regardless, there's chapter 8 for you! I hope you all enjoyed it and are tuned in for when things get more exciting. I don't know when I will have the next chapter finished, it's been taking me a while to find the time to write things out lately but I'm doing my best for you guys as always. Thanks again so much for everyone reading, commenting, following etc. Your love and willingness to stick with me is really amazing. I'll see you again soon! ~Len


	9. Ch 9: Cyan Roses

**A/N: **October is coming to a close, it's so sad. That being said I had a lovely birthday, we hosted an amazing rager, I'm so ready for Halloweekend and I'm coming out with another chapter! With that being said, I want to warn the general audience there will be some heartbreak and some (more) death upcoming soon along with some messy relationships. I'm also going to throw a **Non-con rape **warning out there right now, that will be coming up so please if that puts you in any sort of uncomfortable or dangerous position do not read it! I will have the section clearly labeled and it's not explicit but I still want people to know about it. Other, far more pleasing, relationships will start to form around here thanks to Kaito's rage-induced rant at the beginning of this chapter. It's a long rant so forgive me for that but I felt that some things needed to be said.

Ch. 9: Cyan Roses

Aido was up early, far earlier than he had ever been, the reason behind his early rising was that their pureblood prince had not called them for breakfast yet. In fact, he was nowhere to be found in the entire moon dorms. Aido even went so far to check his leader's room and the room of the hunters where Seiren informed him not even she had seen Kaname yet. "Will you quit your pacing, it's giving me a headache." Ruka snapped from the side of the common room where she was sitting with her morning tea.

"It's not my fault I care about Kaname-sama's well being more than you do!" the small angry blond retorted hotly. Ruka's eyes narrowed tea. Before a fight could break out between them Rima stepped in.

"We're all curious, but it's not like Kaname-sama will drop dead without us around. He's a pureblood. Besides, he's probably with the hunter again." she shrugged, it was obvious to the vampires their leader had something of an obsession with the notorious hunter Kiryuu Zero lately. Aido's eyes flared at the thought, their all-powerful leader entertaining a worthless level D of all things! It was unforgivable!

"I'm going to kill that stupid level D! How dare he take up Kaname-sama's time and energy!" the ice-using noble shouted in the otherwise quiet room.

"What makes you think Zero is _wanting_ his time in the first place. In case you haven't noticed, Zero works pretty much solo unless asked or ordered otherwise. Your prince is the one that goes to him, not the other way around. Your high and mighty egotistical views sure do make you lot sound fucking stupid." Kaito voiced in a tone of challenge. "You don't know what it's like, you sit on your high ass chairs and bitch about how the rest of the world is useless compared to you. Why don't _you _take on the missions, why don't _you _charge headfirst into wars you have nothing to do with. Hell, why don't you do _anything_ except play your mind and manipulation games! Risk your own life instead of using ours. But oh no, that would get your hands dirty, god _forbid _instead of calling us names and looking down on our kind you actually have some gratitude for taking out all your feuding problems for you. You want to talk about a worthless species? Useless beings? Take a look in a mother fucking mirror sometime. Tell me, aside from following purebloods around like love-sick puppies do any of you actually do anything? And maybe this rant doesn't apply to all of you, but I know for a fact that you, Hanabusa and you Souen sure do give us a fuck ton of shit for everything we do but I've never once seen you on your feet ready to protect anyone that's not like you. You're disgusting, classist assholes that have no right to bitch. You don't know us, you don't know Zero, and believe me when I say even if he won't put a bullet in you I most _definitely _will." the older hunter seethed with rage as he walked down the stairs. His eyes burned so freely, his rage was palpable enough the vampires could feel his magic starting affect the air in the entire moon dorms. Before there was a retort by the nobles the door swung open revealing the pureblood himself and Zero trailing behind him. The tension was gone in a moment, Kaito resumed his monotone temperament and walked towards his partner as though nothing had taken place only seconds before.

"Takamiya-kun, it's good to see you up." Kaname nodded to him before the hunter could pass him.

"It's good to be up. Thank you for your hospitality and medical aid but I believe it is time I return to the sun dorms." he responded with a small nod of respect and gratitude before moving past the pureblood to the outside world. Seiren, unphased by the hunter's previous outburst against Aido, took a mental breath and approached her leader respectfully. Before she could speak however the prince held up his hand.

"You may go." was all he said, Seiren looked up at him then over to the silver-haired hunter, who gave her a nod, before she bowed to the both of them and ran to catch up to her hunter. She was still Kaname's noble, but they both knew she was doing this for her own being and needed someone else in her life to give her what Kaname, as her leader, could not. Zero shook his head slightly at the two, he was happy for his friend, both of them have been through many tragedies in their lives. It was time they felt some sense of real security.

'Maybe she can convince him to leave the association and do what he really wants in life.' hope was a dangerous thing he rarely acknowledged but this time he didn't mind. He would hope and believe Kaito would find happiness and peace with Seiren by his side. Away from life as a hunter that only proved to destroy their wellbeing.

"You're not going to stop him?" Ruka questioned as both Zero and Kaname made their way inside the common room. The silverette looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"What right do I have to do that? He's happy, that's a rarity among hunters...besides, what Kaito does with his life isn't something to be controlled by someone else. We don't work that way." he answered with a shrug as he made his way upstairs, it had been a long night even with the sound sleep he got with Kaname. A memory that still made him blush a bit. He wasn't sure why, or what they were. Did he even love the vampire? Would he care to? He wasn't sure. He sighed as he lay on his bed in a now half-empty room. He didn't really have the time to think about such things, he had a much bigger problem coming. 'What's going to happen now?' the question entered his mind for the countless time that evening. It was all so confusing. A knock at his door has him sitting up again, shaking his head he got up and opened the door. "Shiki?" he questioned once he registered who was outside his room properly.

"Can I come in?" came the mumbled monotone. Zero nodded almost numbly as he moved to the side to let the noble in. He was tempted to ask where Takuma was since the two rarely went anywhere without each other. Takuma was often Shiki's voice, the younger preferred not to talk unless it was necessary.

"Sure." he replied letting the quiet noble into his now single room although Kaito's bed was still there. "Is there something you need?" the question came more out of habit than anything, Kaito was the only one that came to his room without ulterior motives. But he couldn't imagine what it would be that the cousin of Kuran wanted with him.

"Not particularly. Takamiya-kun...was very angry before you and Kaname-sama walked in." the aburn-brown haired vampire voiced. Zero sighed and ran a hand through his hair, he figured something had set him off as he was leaving.

"Outbursts aren't his usual ways of dealing with comments by I assume Aido or Souen...he didn't hurt anyone it doesn't look like though." lilac-amethyst eyes trailed over Shiki's figure as though confirming his statement. The noble almost blushed, though he doubted it was out of real concern the feeling of those eyes studying him for those few moments had him feeling self-conscious for the first time since he was a child. But Zero had that effect on others. He could see right through anyone.

"He said we don't know you ...or understand hunters because we think of ourselves as too far above them to care about their duties or life sacrifices...basically." Shiki started as he watched out the window. Zero, doubting his partner said anything that nicely in a fit of rage, stayed quiet, sensing there was more he was going to say. "He's right, we don't know you. Him. Or any other hunter." he finished.

"And?" the silverette prompted after taking a seat at the desk in his room.

"I want to know you. I want to stop the stigma that you will forever be an outcast to us and hunters. There's more than 'Silver Bullet' in you and it sounds stupid but...I want to know." the younger rushed out in such a flurry of words Zero almost didn't what it was he was saying.

"Why?" was all the surprised hunter could manage to ask, his mind was racing at a speed he didn't think was possible with so many questions he couldn't even speak. 'Why do you care?' he wondered as he tried to read the other male. There were no feelings of secrecy or hidden meaning in him but it was odd for someone like Shiki to suddenly want to know him.

"You're interesting." was all Zero was given, he almost laughed at the simple statement. Regaining control of his thoughts he moved to sit on his bed and glanced over at the other before gesturing for him to sit wherever he wished.

"Alright, I'll humor you, what is it you want to know about me exactly?" the silverette asked, his eyes never leaving the vampire.

"What does it mean to be a weapon of the association...they say you're the best they have..." cyan colored eyes were stone to read and yet somehow so filed with swirling emotions Zero found himself captivated by them for a few moments.

"Whoever 'they' are they have it wrong. I'm not the best, I'm just further along than most elites were at my age. What makes us weapons doesn't have anything to do with skill. It's if you're replaceable or not. Most hunters are, they come and go or die and their positions get passed on easily. That's not the case with elites and certainly not the story with my family. We're irreplaceable and the hunter community knows that despite the fact that they hate me. If I was anyone else they would have killed me." came the response that didn't actually answer the question.

"Why?" Senri questioned as though they weren't talking about what would have happened to the hunter if things were different.

"I was a twin, I'm a level D, I don't follow typical rules...the list goes on I'm sure. I only know a few reasons." he shrugged casually. He didn't know why but talking to the quiet noble was easy. He could almost say it felt natural, as though they had been doing this for years already. 'What makes him so different?' the silverette wondered to himself. Shiki took in the other's posture, the air of the room and anything else that could signal to him Zero was becoming tense or hostile. But there were no such feelings, the room was calm and easy. He could even say their conversation was carefree. It was odd considering the perfect he used to see outside the gates every morning.

'Like night and day.' but he wasn't sure why that was. Surely changing your life to be in the moon dorms wasn't an easy change. "Will you always be tied to the association?" he whispered out, not wanting to disturb the peaceful feeling of the room by sounding repulsed by the idea. "It doesn't sound like a good place..." the younger decided to add on quickly.

"It's possible. Kiryuu's aren't meant to live in a normal world. We can't blend in like regular hunters and we don't generally mix well with vampires. We're too inhuman to live casually, we belong among the wars, the death and eventual desolation of our own kind. It's always been that way." Zero shrugged as he looked at the floor. He wasn't human or vampire enough to exist easily in either world. He was too deadly of a hunter to be welcomed among others that weren't Kaito or Yagari and Cross. 'But they won't be around forever.' he reminded himself lost in thought.

"You expect to die soon then..." it was more of a statement than a question, Shiki found he had a hard time imagining that reality. 'What would that even look like?' Zero had been such a staple in his life, every day they saw him, now every night they lived with him. 'Life without him would be odd. Unnatural even.' the noble decided with a frown.

"Something like that, it's an odd thought since we have everything we need in our makeup to be immortals but our destiny only seems to cut our lives short. That being said, it is what it is. There's no reason to dwell on the inevitable. Only prepare for the present future." his easy response told Shiki that Zero had accepted such a fate and was only living for what happened in his lifetime. He wondered if all humans thought that way or if the hunter was a special case.

"What if others don't want you to die, what do you tell them?" it wasn't as though he was expecting real reassurance that the older would try to stop what he saw as certain but a small part of Shiki wanted him to say he would try at least. To live for another that he cared about.

"Generally hunters know we're not supposed to live long, they might be upset but eventually Cross, Touga and Kaito will move on with their lives. I doubt the conversation would come up with Yuuki, she would get too upset at just the idea of it. But even she will move on eventually. That's pretty much it as far as people that would want me to stick around just because." Zero answered lifting his eyes back to cyan hues. Unlike with Kaname there was a softness in Shiki, more than the bare minimum emotion. Even if he was a stone-faced doll, there was more to this being that Zero didn't need mind games and loopholes to find out. "Why do you ask?" he questioned, watching as the nobles eyes became clouded and confused. He wasn't sure, he was asking and thinking without a plan. "Do you want me around?" the older pressed carefully, he wanted answers but didn't want to scare off the noble. He never had a vampire on his side, there was Kaname he supposed but his intentions were different, he was off and unusual lately.

"It would be strange without our normal routine..." Shiki answered with a shrug, it was vaguely there but Zero could see the light blue hue of mixed emotions as it glowed around him.

"I see. Well, I'm not sure what I would say in that case. We'll have to see what happens I guess." the hunter saw the hue of color turned into a bright lilac, he wasn't sure what that meant yet but assumed it was a good thing. Soon, however, he felt Kaname's aura start to act out. He was upset, for what reason Zero wasn't sure but it was clear he wasn't pleased. "You should leave...Kaname is coming and he's not pleased. I wouldn't want you caught in the crossfire." he urged to the noble as he stood with narrowed eyes. Shiki didn't need more motivation than that to quickly make his exit and return to the safety of his own room down the hall.

Zero made his way over to his desk before the pureblood walked in unannounced with a glowing yellow aura so bright Zero was tempted to shield his eyes. The vampire's face, on the other hand, was eerily calm and collected.

"What business did you and Senri have." he demanded after the door shut behind him.

"Nothing significant, he just wanted to know some things." the silverette shrugged trying to keep calm. He wasn't Kuran's property after all, he could interact with others without needing permission or explanation.

"You're not allowed to talk with him." Kaname stated flashing red eyes as he looked the younger over critically. Zero almost laughed at the statement.

"You don't control me, pureblood or not, you don't own me." he snarled, his own magic beginning to spark and crackle in the room. Kaname's eyes glowed red at the retort, his dark aura expanding in the room.

"But I do, we're bonded in case you didn't remember." he smiled smugly, fueling Zero's irritation further.

"I never agreed to be bonded to you, there is no 'we', I thought maybe you had become decent for a change but you're just the same if not worse than I remember you being. And as I've said previously. I do not take orders from you!" his voice raised and fists clenched, preparing for a fight.

"Then you need to be reminded of your place compared to me." Before Zero could retort or reach for a weapon of some kind the vampire's aura pinned him against the closest wall, his back hit the wood with a painful thud before the pureblood was on top of him. A hand pressed against his throat cutting off a fair amount of air supply.

'The fuck is he doing?! Is he trying to kill me?' Zero wondered, a gasp of pain left him as fangs tore into his shoulder mercilessly ripping into muscle. It burned, knife-like pain was accompanied by what felt like a fire burning his arms. "Get...off!" he managed to gasp out, furious at his position under the older, instead a fist plummeted into his stomach with a sickening crack letting the silverette know he would be dealing with a broken rib later on if he lived. Managing to free a hand from the aura, though his wrist had most certainly been fractured at least, he pressed against the other's chest and fired a series of magic charges into his body effectively forcing him back with a grunt of pain as he was dislodged.

***TRIGGER WARNING! NON-CON SECTION BEGINS HERE* **

"You won't be able to fight me for long." Kaname hissed, once again preparing his power to attack the other. Zero was gasping the air against the wall. He wasn't supposed to be fighting Kaname. He had other issues going on. "You will give in, you will become mine." he heard the growl and looked up in time to see the vampire move at a speed he couldn't register towards him. He didn't register the pain either, although he was sure he should have, his head slammed against his bed and invisible chains tightened around his torso and limbs.

"What are you doing?" breath coming shorter and faster, vision blurred from what he assumed was a concussion, but he could feel his clothes being torn off. In a hazy panic he started to struggle, he hadn't an ounce of control or mobility he needed to fight back properly. He was helpless as Kaname advanced on top of him, all he could do was cry out as a blinding white pain took over his body.

"Breaking you." was all Kaname said, cold and hard as he continued to thrust and butcher the hunter before him. The tears streaming down Zero's cheeks and the cries begging him to stop went unnoticed. Zero would be his, that power would be his and his alone.

***NON-CON SECTION ENDS HERE***

'Help.' Zero begged in his mind as he closed his eyes, waiting to fall unconscious and for it all to be over.

_"I can help you, all you have to do is accept me. You're strong, I can amplify your strength and control. As long as you let me. You won't have to worry about Kuran or Iori, you'll become able to fight off anyone you need and protect others with unrivaled strength."_ a voice, feminine and kind, reached out to him. A figure of a young girl appeared, wings like snow carried her off the ground as she reached out a hand to him. Looking down Zero saw his own hands, unrestrained, unharmed.

"What's your name?" he asked, the girl was pretty. Silky black hair fell below her shoulders, her skin was tanned with a luminescent glow he couldn't explain and her eyes were a beautiful shade of deep violet. He didn't need to think about her offer much. He needed to be free of Kuran Kaname. He took her hand, a warm feeling came over his body. Dancing across his skin and settling along his scar he got from Gaashi. 'Strange.' he thought looking at the girl as she embraced him, her wings fluttered and lifted them from the ground.

_"You can call me Stella."_ she smiled as she began to fade away into glowing dust. Zero was still suspended, looking over his shoulder he saw a pair of wings of his own, beautiful and angelic. He felt a power surge through him as an opening of light in the sky appeared. Eyes set and prepared, the hunter flew to the light. It was time to wake up. It was time to fight.

Kaname, busy relishing his prowess over the smaller male, didn't see the other's eyes open and flash violet which was the only warning Zero gave before an unknown power kicked in and shot pointed lilac spikes made of glass into the vampire above him. Kaname hissed as he pulled back and away from Zero, his aura faltering on its grasp enough for the younger to break through it. Pressing a hand to the floor his new aura slashed the older vampire's neck. It braced his body as he stood, acting on its own to lift Kaname up and slam him against the wall. He didn't want to do this anymore, he was tired and in too much pain, his body ready to collapse again. Kaname wasn't quick to get up, glass spears still embedded in his skin.

"Kaname stop!" the voice reached Zero's ears shortly before the toll of using so much magic in his physical state took over. Collapsing to his knees he leaned against something warm and soft. Closing his eyes to shut out some of the pain.

"Are you alright?" a familiar monotone whispered to him among a series of shouting and frantic movements. Zero opened lilac-amethyst eyes slowly to find himself partially clothed with a jacket that wasn't his leaning against Senri Shiki with Rima sitting in front of them dressing his wrists and shoulder. Behind her stood Takuma, Akatsuki, Aido, Kaito, and Seiren holding back Kaname, keeping him from re-entering the room. Looking over at Shiki a painful realization of what transpired in the last hour of his life hit him. He closed his eyes once again and freely let his tears fall into the noble's shoulder as he slipped back into unconsciousness.

**A/N: **Oh man well I won't lie, this is not what I had planned for this chapter at all. I hope this was a good chapter overall, if what happened to Kaname wasn't clear the short explanation is that he went power-hungry after he and Zero went to the woods and his solution was to break him in order to make him full controllable. You'll see more of Stella and her character later on as well, Kaname isn't gone however and Zero will, unfortunately, have to deal with the aftermath of what happened later on. At least he has Shiki and Kaito! I apologize for this not being uploaded as soon as I wanted. I was actually finished writing about two days ago but with Halloweekend and all the partying plus my work schedule, I didn't get it typed and edited until now. Regardless I hope you guys are willing to stick around for the next chapter and are still interested enough in this fic to see it through. Happy November! Happy NaNoWriMo for all of you who participate in that as well. Until next time! ~Len


	10. Ch 10: The Aftermath

**A/N: **Hello hello! It's been way over a month and I apologize. My house has been insane with finals, medical procedures, and a lot of crap that I won't go into. The good news is that I'm posting a new chapter, the bad news is that we're all in the middle of finals and still going absolutely insane meaning I don't really know when I'll be getting chapter...eleven out to you all. I'm still working on it though, I will still finish this fiction no matter what it takes and I hope you all enjoy. In this chapter there's more interaction between Stella and Zero that is distinguished by italics. I'm sorry if it's crappy to read but I needed it to separate real-world form this kind of alternate place where they meet when Zero isn't awake.

Ch. 10: The Aftermath

Takuma looked over at his friend, there was an expression on his face the blond had not seen in years. An expression of real longing, not the longing for blood or sweet foods but something much more difficult to distinguish. "What do we do now?" Kaito questioned eventually, effectively pulling the noble from more pleasant musings. Looking back at the now empty doorway, Kaname had quite easily broken free from the nobles and closed himself in his own room.

"I believe we should take Kiryuu-kun to the infirmary for now, then we can take other steps to deal with Kaname. Until then Kiryuu-kun should be moved into another room where he can be protected. It will be up to him if we should take this matter to headmaster Cross or not." the vice president replied, his eyes becoming narrowed and serious. A look Kaito hadn't seen on the bubbly blond. Even he would admit it was quite intimidating despite that it wasn't aimed at him.

"He can stay with us when he comes back, it will be the safest place for him...we should also set up a twenty-four-hour watch while he's in the infirmary." Shiki spoke up, still not having moved from where he was supporting the silverette on the floor.

"Is that alright with you Takamiya-kun?" Takuma looked over at the older hunter for approval. Kaito nodded and turned to leave the room with Seiren.

"He'll probably close up, Zero always tends to do that after hard nights or rough missions. Let me know if you need anything." he spoke calmly but the vampires could feel his rage towards the pureblood grow the longer he looked at the vampire's door. 'How _dare _you lay a hand on Zero like this.' he seethed to himself as the left. Takuma sighed and turned back to the nobles, the group still looked lost and shocked that their leader could ever do something like this. He too was surprised, but more than that he was saddened at the reality his friend and leader was turning out to be very similar to his uncle. Kuran Rido.

'We will have a problem if we end up with another corrupt pureblood of that degree.' he sighed to himself. Turning back to the injured and unconscious hunter in the room he felt his own anger rise a bit above normal. Kiryuu Zero may be a thorn at times, but not even he deserved this. Certainly not from a pureblood. The young adult had already been through too much. "Let's make sure he gets to the infirmary safely, Kain, Aido, and I will escort you to and from the moon dorms when ready. I don't want to take chances. It is possible that Kaname will turn on us for helping out his victim." he ordered knowing full well the nobles would follow it. He was the second-best to Kaname as a leader and currently the only sensible one they had. As expected the group nodded, Shiki and Rima dressed Zero as best they could before the former picked him up to be carried out. Takuma stood in front, Rima to his side with Kain, Aido, and Ruka following close behind. It was silent as they walked in a fortress formation along the halls to the moon dorm infirmary.

"What are we going to do about Cross...and Yagri-san...surely they won't take this very well. Neither will the Council if Kaname is expelled." Ruka eventually spoke up.

"Part of what will get said we will have to leave up to Zero...what happens after that will largely depend on any action he wants to take against Kaname..." Shiki pointed out, he wasn't even sure himself what would be best. Harming a student, the son of the headmaster no less, for anyone else would surely result in expulsion. But that could cause more issues for the two communities if the Council saw the action as unnecessary or unjustified.

"Let's focus on his recovery first. He may not be up to talking, as Takamiya-kun said, it might be a while before anything is even mentioned to them. We can't forget we have other problems coming to us first." Kain spoke up hoping to shift the attention to an easier subject to think about.

"Kaname-sama did quite a lot of damage I'm afraid, though he's healing rapidly and very well as we speak I have a feeling there will be many scars left over. Kiryuu-kun has always been the resilient type and bounces back from injury quite easily, but this kind of internal damage could take a few weeks to fully recover. He won't enjoy it but I'd recommend cutting down physical activity for a while." the nurse, someone Zero knew quite well, voiced her analysis to the night class. Although she too herself was a follower of the prince her history with the hunter, knowing how difficult it would be for even a pureblood to render him unconscious from pain made her question her leader's moral. Taking advantage of a low-level vampire was common, in some cases it was encouraged even, but Kaname had never fallen prey to those methods. 'What happened to you Kaname-kun.' she wondered as she checked the silverette's vitals and bid the night class a casual goodbye. She would be back in the morning to check on him.

"We should return to the moon dorms, Cross will eventually get suspicious and Yagari won't let us get away with skipping class without reason tomorrow." Takuma advised after the group was left to contemplate what they were told.

"I'll stay." Senri spoke up as Takuma knew he would, he nodded before leading the other night class members back to the common rooms. Looking down at the hunter he paused briefly, he wasn't sure why he was suddenly so attached to him. 'Am I just wanting him as Kaname did? What made him hurt you? What are you to Kaname?' he wondered thumbing over the silverette's hand. An IV hooked to blood pouches hung above his bed, he had lost so much blood and magic in the struggle. "Not that you would know the answer, but what will become of Kaname after this?" he spoke aloud to the sleeping hunter.

A voice caught in his head, an easy, calm, and quiet one but not shy. Slowly Zero felt himself coming back to consciousness with the world around him. There was still a numbness around him but his senses were alert, he was in the infirmary hooked up to a draining blood pouch he assumed, Shiki was with him but all else was quiet. A shock of pain sliced through his body as he tried to open and close his hand. With a grunt of forced will he opened his eyes a bit to take in the artificial lights. 'It must be day time then, the others should be asleep.' he figured to himself as he looked around through hazy vision. Shiki was leaned over him, asleep but mumbling things. 'That's cute, something to hold over him later.' the silverette mused. He felt grateful there was someone waiting for him in case Kaname decided to show up. The idea of the pureblood made him feel nauseated and cold, his body began to ache and twitch almost violently at the recent memory. Willing himself to focus on something easier, Shiki mainly, he calmed his heart and body enough to be still again. However he was still far from tranquil.

"Hnn..." a quiet hum came from the noble as he shifted and eventually began to open his eyes.

"You can go back to sleep, it's still day, mid-day." Zero told him with a slight hoarseness to his voice from lack of use. Shiki's eyes sprang open as he heard it, quickly sitting up to look at the hunter.

"How long have you been awake?" the noble questioned his normal expressionless mask was littered with surprise and worry as he looked upon the other.

"Maybe ten minutes? I'm not fully sure, how long have I been in here?" he wondered noting how stiff and tense his body felt.

"Almost three days...I was starting to wonder if you had lost too much blood this time even though you only took four pints." the nurse walked in the room, she had been soon dorms just across the hall from the infirmary since the second evening.

"Suri-san," he greeted the familiar vampire with a nod. "That's quite a bit longer than I expected to be here for. I didn't realize I drained that much magic." he sighed slightly, it would be a few more days before he would be able to use most magic freely. The consequence of depleting his magic was critical condition at best.

"You could have died Zero-kun, in fact I'd say you nearly did. I heard what happened in depth from Shiki-kun and Kaito-kun when he dropped by last night. You must be careful now. He could kill you." Suri explained quite sternly although Zero seemed to take it all in stride for the most part.

"I didn't have much of a choice." he pointed out rather flatly. It was an easy cover for insecurities about the topic. He wasn't ready to talk about what happened or the other vampire involved. Even the name brought a feeling of disgust racing through his body from the pit of his stomach.

"Are you in pain?" Suri easily moved on from the subject, not wanting the other to make himself sick at the idea of the pureblood.

"Yes, it's manageable but only when I don't move too much. My chest and neck are the worst probably...well next to...you know." he couldn't finish the sentence, voice clouding as he turned away from the two pairs of eyes looking at him. Senri sent him a nod of understanding as Suri sighed audibly. She had a feeling this was when they would meet some resistance, she always did when it came to the intimate details.

"I will give you something for the pain, it should also help increase the amount of magic you generate for a little while. That will help you heal. I was telling Takuma-san and the others that you will be given limited time to be up and physical for the next week once you are able to return to the moon dorms. I expect you to follow these orders." she told him with a short glare, he didn't look pleased at the idea and his eyes widened a fraction as a realization dawned on him.

"The moon dorms...where the hell am I going to be in the moon dorms?" the hint of panic was enough to put Shiki on edge. Would he be alright with the arrangement they made? Or would he rather be separated from all things vampire? Were they back to square one?

'He seems to be doing alright with Suri-san and I though...maybe it'll be alright.' he tried to assure himself before saying something. "We've started to set up a place in our room for you, it was also decided that you wouldn't be going anywhere without an escort. That will be the only way you're safe in school until action is taken..." Shiki carefully explained, he didn't want it to feel like they were trapping him but the reality was he was accessible to Kaname at any time as long as they lived within the same vicinity. If he was in the sun dorms innocent people might get hurt just to give the pureblood an upper hand. The silverette however just looked confused at him for a few moments.

"Action? What action?" he asked completely ignoring the previous requirements for his new living situation.

"Disciplinary action that will likely be taken against Kaname for what he did to you. We decided to leave it up to you on how to go about telling Cross and Yagari-sensei." another voice joined the conversation causing all three vampires to look towards the door, Zero blinked seeing the rest of the pureblood's inner circle filing in the doorway.

"I don't plan on telling them anything, no disciplinary action will be taken against Kuran and we shall proceed about living at the academy as normal. I doubt this needs to be said but Yuuki will also remain ignorant of the situation. Touga will allow me to cut down on missions for a period of time until the association gets on his ass about checking in. Cross won't be nosy if he's not alerted to anything." he decided before resting his head back on the given pillow Suri provided him. He didn't miss the emotions of shock, anger, and a hint of admiration coming off the group at his statement.

"You won't have him expelled?" Aido questioned specifically, even if the hunter didn't take drastic measures he could still use Cross and Yagari to his advantage.

"No, he won't be expelled or restricted in any way. Everything will continue as it has been. Crossover, class, dining, all of it will be the same as it was with the exception of the room change." the decisive tone of the hunter's voice told the group he wasn't changing his mind. Even so, Takuma was concerned they weren't doing enough.

"Are you sure this will be alright?" the vice president asked still in shock at the young adult's words. The hunter was putting quite a lot of faith in the idea that the pureblood wouldn't go after him at the school.

"The situation would be different if I were full hunter, but as it stands the association can't do anything to him and the Council, as well as anyone that knows class standing, is aware that as a pureblood Kuran has free range to do what he wishes to low status vampires. It's not uncommon, nor is it seen as wrong, and if I'm being honest it's far too large of a battle to fight against old rule right now. We have no choice but to leave it as is and continue as comfortably as possible. Kuran knows he is untouchable." the silverette pointed out never taking his eyes off the older vampire. There was a long pause, in which everyone let his words sink in, he was right. No matter if they did say anything ultimately things would either go unchanged or get worse. Kaname never used them as disposable objects or tools to which he could do as he wished but he very well could. They would be powerless to stop him.

'The weight of the pureblood title...is this how everyone else feels when they're mentioned? This fear and uncertainty of what could happen to them?' Ruka caught the hunter's eye as she finally looked up from the ground, there was a sadness in them she hadn't noticed before. Her heart nearly stopped when he gave her the smallest of nods. He knew what she was thinking. This was the reality the name 'vampire' caused for most people. It was a sad truth she only just realized existed after so long. And now? Now she could only sit and watch with her mouth shut.

"I believe this is enough for tonight, the rest of you still have a schedule to attend to." Suri spoke eventually as the group seemed to collectively spiral into silent turmoil. One by one they have the woman and Zero a nod of respect before leaving.

"That means you too, Shiki, you're still in the night class." Zero spoke noting that the noble hadn't moved from where he was seated by the hunter's bed. "I'll be fine, Suri-san will be here and Kaito is coming after crossover to stay for the time you're in class I assume." he added on after seeing a look of distrust in the other's eyes. He clearly wasn't happy about it but understood it wasn't his choice.

"If you need anything..." he trailed off giving a look to the hunter then to Suri who nodded.

"I'll call for you immediately." she assured the younger before he too left the room. Zero sighed hearing the door close, a sense of fear was beginning to settle in, a much stronger and far more intense fear than what he had faced after Shizuka's attack on his family. Running a shaky hand through his hair as he stared out the small window he hoped Kaito would come quickly.

'Pathetic, you're not a child anymore. You've been hurt by vampires before. You're old enough not to need protection from reality. What happened has happened, you can't change it.' he thought in an effort to calm himself. It was much harder than he remembered.

"It's been a while since you feared the very idea of a vampire. Though you appeared very calm and collected around Shiki-kun and the others." Suri sighed as she side-glanced over at her patient. She could tell he was not so calm on the inside as he appeared to be on the outside. He had forgotten that feeling of being scared of a being aside from himself.

"Shiki and Takuma are different, they were angry at what he had done. I suppose there is some form of twisted comfort I take in that idea. Even if they know they can't do anything, I know they would be the first of the nobles to try." he explained quietly as though if he spoke too loud the room would shatter.

"It's natural for anyone, you're not children anymore. They are aware of the gravity of what happened without you saying it. If they offer help, Zero-kun, I suggest you take it." she gently corrected, it would be a hard recovery, she knew that, but if she could help the boys out by encouraging Zero to talk she would. Maybe he would change his mind about telling Cross and Yagari if he had help in the Council's favor. Zero said nothing more and the two existed in a comfortable silence as they waited for Kaito to get there. At some point, though he didn't know when, Zero ended up falling asleep to the white noise of the older vampire working around him.

_"Welcome back, Zero-san," the voice of the girl, Stella he recalled her saying her name was, sounded in his head before his eyes opened to that familiar black space with the girl standing a few feet in front of him. Before he could even open his mouth she put a hand up and continued speaking. "I know you have questions about what happened and what to do next, I am currently only here via your subconscious need to protect yourself from Kuran Kaname. But this will be enough until the time comes to bond me to a weapon form. Your parents once did, but I was broken when they died now you are my wielder. Does that make sense?" she questioned, Zero blinked, her demeanor had changed since the last time they were together._

_'Maybe it was just because of the circumstances that I didn't notice beforehand.' he reasoned with a mental shake of his head. "Sure, just like my other bonded weapons correct? Establish methods and match frequency before bonding." he stated, he was familiar with the process. Daitan and the others were always there but only allowed him access to their full abilities through a bond of master and weapon. Not all hunters had such abilities but Kiryuus tended to be lucky._

_"Yes, we will meet when you sleep and I will teach you. I know that you're expecting another hunter to come soon, we must work quickly for you to be able to fight efficiently when he gets here." Stella urged as she stepped back a pace or two. Zero nodded before they got to work. What happened with the pureblood would have to be dealt with later, he needed to get back on track. With focused eyes on the form before him he took a defensive stance. "Let's go!" Stella shouted before charging the taller hunter, she was fast but her initial moves were predictable. Swift mid-kick. Blocked by a low forearm. High kick. Dodged. Zero moved to the side to dodge a side jab, retaliating by pushing her arm to knock her off balance and sweep her feet out from under her. "Clearly you're not rusty in martial arts. That's good, you'll need to be agile to fight well with me." Stella commented as she sprang off her hand into a walkover and landed on her feet gracefully. If Zero was impressed he didn't show it. 'He's sharp and practiced, an ideal physically...his brain is a steel wall though. I will need to create some foul play if I want Iori-kun to survive this battle with him and properly restore the clan.' she thought as she faced the hunter again. He had relaxed but his eyes were still focused and calculating._

_"What kind of weapon are you...you didn't come to me in form, there was nothing physical. But the magic I had was different. Whatever it was, it wasn't something normal." he questioned, what came of him when he was fighting Kaname wasn't like anything he was fully familiar with. That surge of unknown magic power that manifested into physical form. It was unusual and he wanted to know more. 'Fanatic a bit much?' he commented to himself, it was true but he had yet to care._

_"You're right, I'm not a weapon like Bloody Rose or Daitan. I walk the line between a charm and the magic you naturally possess. Our bond will mark your skin and my soul will be absorbed into you. It's a power unattainable to most, but it's not a free pass. Of course we will discuss those terms more later. Our time is up for this session. Your friend has come to watch over you in the infirmary." Stella answered before fading into the black scenery. Zero was fine with that, he was sure he would get an earful from the older when he woke but that's how they were with each other._

A slight twitch of his hand alerted Kaito to Zero's waking. He knew his partner was fine but couldn't help the mental breath of relief as the silverette's eyes opened. "Welcome back, how are you feeling?" he asked after a moment or two.

"Tired mainly but other than that I've felt worse I suppose. Certainly not as drained as beforehand. What about you, have you healed for the most part?" lilac-amethyst eyes grew concerned as he remembered his friend had been wounded previously.

"I've been alright, still on limited activity but that will be over by next week I'm hoping. When are you due out of solitary confinement?" the ash-brown haired hunter half-joked causing Zero to let out a half-laugh.

"Soon I hope, the last thing I need is another day of class missed. I'm going to have a mountain to do when I get back to the moon dorms as it." he groaned. Kaito rained an eyebrow at him before his eyes narrowed in a mother-like manner.

"You _are_ planning to tell them what happened, right?" he questioned growing serious. Zero mentally took a breath before shaking his head in reply. Kaito's emotions exploded, anger and confusion mixed with concern hit the younger harder than a herd of horses. "You can't be serious, Zero he could have _killed_ you. What he did is unacceptable, pureblood or not he deserves to be reprimanded for everything. Why the hell are you going to sit here and stay quiet?!" he was enraged but more than that he was worried, Zero was notorious for keeping secrets and it never did him any favors. Kuran would destroy him if given the chance.

"We're taking precautions. I'm not allowed to go anywhere without an escort and I'm moving into Takuma-san and Shiki's room in the moon dorms. If Cross were to take any action the school would be in trouble and we both know Touga would try to kill him...that would put the vampires and hunters into another fucking war. I can't have either of those things happen. Besides, let's face it Kaito, I'm a level D. He can do whatever the fuck he wants to me and I can't really do shit about it. He could make me a pet, use me, cage me, _own_ me..._anything he wants_. I'm not a full hunter anymore, I'm his property." Zero was begging his partner to understand so he didn't have to continue talking about the reality of the situation. "As soon as I was turned...I became theirs. Property of any high or normal class vampire." he started trembling, his voice growing weak and desperate. Neither he nor Kaito were surprised when he started crying. It was silent, but he was crying. Kaito sat down on the bed and pulled the younger to him.

"You're not. You're Zero, a hunter and a vampire but _never_ the property of another. I won't say anything to Cross or sensei for now, but they'll need to know the truth at some point. I doubt either of us will want to be around if mother bear and father devil find out on their own. The world might explode." Kaito joked in order to lighten the heavy mood as he continued to comfort his broken friend.

"Maybe before...maybe that's who I would have been...but things have changed. I'm not the same as I was. I _am_ his property as much as he wants me to be. He...he forced a blood bond. There was nothing I could then and there's certainly nothing I can do about it now. And what would happen should it break? Everyone will be in grave danger. You have to accept that Kaito. You have to." a whisper was all he could manage at the end of his plea to his best friend. Covering his head with his arms he curled up into a defensive fetal position. Kaito could only watch, anger boiling his blood so much it felt as though his skin was going to burn from the inside out. He was so focused on his partner he didn't notice when the door opened and Shiki rushed to Zero's side. Nothing was said as the two switched places and locked eyes. Giving the noble a nod Kaito turned and started to make his way towards the door.

"What are you going to do?" the noble spoke before he could reach the handle.

"Nothing rational." was the only answer he got before the hunter walked out and let the door slam behind him. Pulling a dagger from his jacket he stalked towards the pureblood's room. 'Consequences and aftermath be damned, you're going to die for what you did to him.' he seethed, eyes filled with an untamed rage.

**A/N: **Alright chapter ten, I can't believe we're already ten chapters into this story! I apologize for getting this one out to you all so late, I hope you're enjoying your December though! I am trying my best to get my life back on schedule as much as possible to get chapter eleven out before the holidays fully hit. I won't lie, things have been going a little off my main plot-point outline but I always expect that when writing for fun like this. I promise I have not forgotten about Iori or the main battle, I just wanted to have some twists here and there in between. I'm still not sure how long this fic is going to be overall...I assume it's going to at least be close to fifteen chapters (I think Actor was somewhere around there?) but really I'm quite bad at finding an actual ending point even when I have the ending scenes pretty much mentally written out. Hold onto your phones, computers, tablets or whatever your reading this on because things are about to change again and we're in for a ride! Happy December and thank you all for reading/reviewing! ~Len


	11. Ch 11: Betrayed

**A/N: **Hello, I know it's been a long while since I uploaded and I'm sorry, the holidays hit before I could finish chapter 11 but I'm back now in a new year with another twenty or so fics started both in and out of the VK fandom. I did add another chapter of my Vampire Knight In-Progress e-notebook if you haven't checked that out let me know what you think of those stories if you get the chance. No pressure of course I'm just curious if they sound interesting enough to write for anyone else but me lol. Anyway, I am working on chapter 12 as we speak, we're close to the first half of what I consider the climax of the story but that's just my best guess. I'm hoping to get out the whole scene with Iori out starting in the next two chapters and maybe finishing during chapter 14 or 15. We'll see what happens and as always thanks so much for holding on and being nice to me. The Kaname conundrum might take another chapter or two since that wasn't planned or even remotely thought out before it happened, I'm sorry this one is shorter than a couple of my past chapters but I did want to get it out and I felt it was at a good stopping place. We do get to learn a little bit more about what's going on with Kaname near the end of this chapter though, I'm sure there will be more twists and turns to come, thank you for sticking with it and enjoy!

Ch. 11: Betrayed

Takuma could feel the intense burn of hunter magic on his skin long before he actually saw Kaito walk into the main room. It took everything in him to keep himself from shrinking back or prepare for a fight. Instead he turned to the enraged hunter and did something unexpected. He stood, and moved to walk beside the younger adult. "Aren't you supposed to be one of _his _supporters?" the hunter almost hissed out after he acknowledged the vampire walking with him to the pureblood's study.

"_My _leader wouldn't do something like this. To _anyone._" was all the noble gave in response. Kaito nodded, he realized that while not all of Kuran's nobles shared his ideal co-existence wants they _did _hold him to a pacifist standard. As he portrayed himself to be all these years. They were likely just as if not more disgusted than he was about what happened.

'A pledge of loyalty means nothing when the people you decided to follow turn on their own. If anything they have more of a reason to fight Kuran than I do. But they're subordinates to him, it's a struggle to be anything else when standing next to a pureblood, a hunter on the other hand doesn't abide by those rules. A problem vampire is a problem vampire and we take care of problem vampires one way or another.' Kaito thought as the two stopped just before reaching the door. They could tell he was inside. It was time. Giving the blond a last glance, making sure he was ready for this, before throwing the door open. Kaname looked up at the brutal entry to his room, he wasn't surprised to see either of the two standing on the other side.

"You need something, Takuma?" he questioned not bothering to look at the hunter beside his noble. Anger flared in the blond's normally kind eyes as he was addressed. It was clear to him the pureblood had changed, things would only get worse from here on out.

"What happened between you and Zero-kun, he could have _died. _If it was anyone else they most certainly would have. What happened to _you _Kaname." the noble demanded seeing as he was apparently the only one Kaname was going to talk to.

"I don't have to explain my actions to you, what happens between us is none of your concern, Takuma." he replied coldly, Takuma grit his teeth but was stopped form saying anything more when Kaito stepped in.

"It'll be a lot easier for you to explain it to us than it will for you to explain it to Cross and Touga, I'm sure Yuuki will have a word or two of her own to say as well." he pointed out, trying to keep his tone even. He was enraged, that much was obvious, but it wouldn't turn out to be a productive tool against the pureblood at this time.

"You are loyal to Kiryuu, he won't say anything and he won't let anyone else speak for him unless you wish to betray that trust he has in you." wine-red eyes narrowed in the hunter's direction but Kaito ignored it. Letting out a snort he shook his head before looking back at the vampire.

"You don't know the meaning of the word 'loyalty' among your own kind, much less mine. We are loyal to each other but I didn't let him take his own life, you must be mad if you think I'll let anyone else try to do the same. Unlike you, hunters protect their own." came the pointed response before he turned to leave the room. Takuma couldn't help the smirk that pulled his lips at the flare of anger in Kaname's eyes when the hunter dismissed himself.

"It's not just Takamiya-kun, Kaname, we will protect him from even you if need be." the noble stated as he too walked out the door leaving the pureblood to his thoughts as he met the others downstairs. The nobles looked nervous, rightfully so, they had never stood up to a pureblood. Now they were going against the prince they chose to follow in favor of a level D ex-human they hardly knew.

"Will you really go behind his back and tell Cross and Yagari-san?" Seiren questioned once Kaito returned from the moon dorms, though she had chosen to follow her partner she still worried about the consequences that would come from such an action.

"Not yet, I'll ask Shiki-kun and Takuma-san to help me try to convince him to say something, if he still refuses I won't have any choice but to tell them. Every second he's in the moon dorms Zero is in danger even if Kuran is wary of what I'll say right now. I don't have time to waste." he replied with a sigh, it wouldn't be easy. Hell, he didn't know if it would even be possible to convince his friend to say anything. 'Asking for forgiveness later is easier than asking for permission now...if it comes to that I just hope he doesn't kill me.' the hunter mentally sighed hoping Shiki was already making some sort of headway.

Zero sighed as he woke again to the noise of Suri moving around the room and Shiki at his bedside sleeping. 'Idiot, does he think I'm a child that needs to be watched over?' the silverette half grumbled in his head although he couldn't help that he also felt grateful and even a bit spoiled to be doted on by a noble like Shiki.

"He truly cares for you, you know. I've never seen a noble so loyal to anyone aside from a pureblood. You're quite special Zero-kun, the nobles are choosing to stand up to him for you." Suri spoke noting he was awake and staring at the vampire on his bed.

"I'm not worth that attention." he voiced dryly, a bitter edge pointed at no one made Suri frown deeply.

"I believe you have long proved your place among everyone at this school Zero-kun, even more so among our communities. You're not seen as just an ex-human low level anymore, that is why the nobles are going to stand behind you." Takuma's voice sounded as he walked in with Kaito alongside him. "What we won't do is let this go unacknowledged." he added on with a smile.

"I didn't ask-" Zero started to protest before Kaito cut him off.

"It doesn't matter, you don't have to ask for people to notice. Everyone has had their eyes on you from day one, you know that already, now we're choosing to follow what we know is right. I won't let this drop, either we work something out or we go to the higher-ups. It's the safest option right now, especially with Iori on the way here looking for a fight." the older tried to reason.

"Even with the nobles, hell even with Cross or Touga there's still not much you can do against a pureblood. The Council isn't going to care what he did." the younger hunter protested, he appreciated them trying but there wasn't much any of them could do. It was Kaname after all, the world practically caved to his every move.

"We could claim madness, that might be the only way the Council will listen and step in. Even a pureblood is subjected to trial when there's enough proof of madness against them..." Shiki suggested noting Takuma wince at the idea. It wasn't something favorable, it took ages and was often unsuccessful until nobles started dying. If the allegations proved true enough for judgement and passed in a court of the Council elders the pureblood would be sentenced to execution. It wasn't a preferable method but it was something.

"Are you insane?! He'd kill all of you before he'd even hear it from the Council, he's not particularly reasonable and if it did go through then what? You want him to be blacklisted by one of us? More people will die if you attempt to send hunters after him. It's too risky, for anyone."Zero argued, eyes flashing momentarily with worry.

"If he refuses to take responsibility and acknowledge what he's done there's not much choice we have, even though we are nobles we have an obligation to report purebloods that act out of line or show signs of becoming dangerous to our community as well. By going against his pacifist claims he created suspicion. We can't have another Rido sweep over the community, but we'll need your help to make sure that doesn't happen." Takuma attempted the approach from a different point of view after seeing how much the idea of endangering others put the hunter on edge. If they weren't careful he would shut them out for good on the situation and their hands would be tied for a while. Zero didn't see himself as worth the energy of others but he'd do anything to protect the ones he cared about and his community. That's what being a hunter meant and as guilty as it might make him feel Takuma knew well he could use that to his advantage. He had seen Kaname do it more times than he could count. There was a long pause as the two nobles, Kaito, and Suri waited for Zero to respond, unsure if they should be optimistic or not. Eventually the silverette sighed and nodded his agreement much to their relief.

"I'll do what I can, but I won't be able to face the Council by myself..." he whispered out hanging his head a bit. He felt so weak, even with his health nearly back to where it was before the attack, he felt drained. All of this was exhausting. A hand gently squeezed his own causing him to look up into Shiki's eyes.

"We'll be with you the entire time, you're not alone in this." he promised with as much emotion he could manage to put into such few words.

"We have a new bed set up for you in our room when you're able to get there, Kaito will help you move once we go to class. Until we can get the council to approve a meeting it would be best for you to be away from him as much as possible." Takuma added on with a smile, they were only just beginning down this pathway and he knew there would be many more struggles to come. As long as the silverette was willing, he would try to keep things moving in the best direction possible.

"I should be able to move tonight, right Suri-san?" the nurse turned from her desk of papers to give the silverette a careful once-over before nodding her approval.

"I still suggest keeping your physical activity quite low, missions are out of the question, but with assistance...yes, I believe you are fine to travel to your shared room." though he wasn't pleased about the idea of limited activity, the hunter was grateful to be released from the infirmary. Glancing outside the small window he noted it was probably around five in the evening.

"It's almost time, you two should get going in order to meet the others in the common room..." he suggested to the nobles. Shiki looked reluctant to leave but was eventually lead out by Takuma. Zero watched them go, worry flickering in his eyes, their aura's screamed out in fear. They were just as terrified to be around the pureblood as he was. 'No, more than me, they have far more to fear. Not just their lives but everything they have worked towards he could destroy with a flick of his wrist.' he sighed to himself, they needed to do this thing with the Council quickly, the idea that they would all be killed was very real. A hand gently squeezed his shoulder causing his eyes to re-open into Kaito's. No words were said between them but an understanding was shared, the hand moved out in front of him as an offering. Something he would need to get used to was accepting help when it was offered. A small grimace was all he gave as he stood for the first time in what felt like months. The world spun and he nearly fell before he could regain his balance.

"You will have to move slowly at first, your body has been at rest for quite some time." Suri called from the other side of the room. Kaito let out an amused snort at the half-glare that was shot in her general direction from his best friend.

"We'll take it easy, thank you Suri-san." he answered fro the both of them as they made their way to the door. It would be a long journey to the bedroom he was sure, but they would make it eventually.

Takuma and Shiki were the first of the nobles to arrive in the common room, followed soon by Ruka, Rima, and Kain. "How is he doing?" the orange-haired noble whispered quietly to the others.

"He is moving to our room with Kaito-san tonight while we're in class. He's resilient." the blond answered as they were joined by Aido and his usual grumbling before he put on his 'Idol' persona for the fangirls outside. The tension in the room was thick as they waited for their leader, an uncommon feeling for the close group, when he finally did appear they could feel the anger coming out from behind the stoic expression. His eyes flashed when they passed over Takuma and his cousin, emotions were running high but nothing was said. As he passed through the group and opened the doors without a passing glance to the awaiting perfects the night class held their breath. He was angry and when angry, he was unpredictable.

"Good morning Kaname-sama!" Yuuki greeted in her usual happy tone, oblivious to the uneasy auras of the night class nobles. Kaname looked at her, eyes narrowing a fraction as the voice in his head spoke to him.

_"She's closer to the Kiryuu boy than you are, don't you realize that? Even she would get him before you."_ it sneered, venom dripping from every syllable.

'Yuuki cares for everyone, she lived with Zero because they were both orphaned or don't you remember that _you_ are the one that brought her here to be safe?' another voice, his own to an extent, stepped in snapping the pureblood back to reality as he stared at the now very nervous looking girl.

"Good morning Yuuki, have you been well?" he asked his tone, smoother than honey, quickly easing the girl.

"I have been great! I haven't seen Zero or Kaito-san tonight though, jerk was supposed to help me study so I can graduate this year..." she grumbled to herself with an annoyed look.

_"That's right, she failed last year because due to not passing her science classes...she's a stupid child using the Kiryuu boy to her advantage."_ the original voice spoke up again, regaining control of the vampire's thoughts. Without another word the prince turned on his heel and headed for the classroom building once again. _"Even she ended up betraying you in the end. She's been plotting since they were children. She's worse than your stupid nobles, you need to rid yourself of her soon, Kaname, before she gets in the way even more."_ it spoke louder, the feeling of jealous betrayal washed over the prince once more.

'I will, don't worry, she is nothing compared to me...compared to what I need.' Kaname answered, a sinister smile placed on his lips before he reached the door to the classroom and composed himself once more.

_"Glad we are able to come to an agreement, Kaname-san, you will have the Kiryuu boy in no time if our collaboration continues, I promise."_ the voice, turning into a striking feminine figure in the pureblood's mind, smiled and bowed before she vanished, jet black hair flowing dangerously behind her as deep violet eyes glowed in sick satisfaction. The changing of the Kuran prince was nearly done and the Kiryuu boy was weak. Soon he would come and they would make their final moves.

**A/N: **Alright and there we have chapter 11, just for reference I'm about 109 pages handwritten and close to 60 pages typed. Once again I don't have a beta reader so I apologize for any mistakes I may have missed or general spelling errors, I'm trying my best here y'all I swear, uuumm let's see I don't think I have much more to say...I apologize for this chapter being so late to when I wanted to get it done, lots of things have been happening and January was a horribly long month. To date I'm still not in the best place emotionally but I'm back in the swing of things (or at least trying to be) for now so thank you again for waiting on me. I'm going to be smart and say I don't know when chapter 12 will be out or what is going to happen, just know it's being written and will get here hopefully soon. As always if you have any questions, want clarifications, or just want to chat please feel free to PM me, I love talking with you guys on a personal level. I won't deal with your flame, save those for Reddit or the YouTube comment section, thank you! Have a wonderful night, day, evening, or morning and I'll see you soon! ~Len-kun


	12. Ch 12: Bloodstained Chocolate

**A/N: **It's been a minute! I did my best to make up for the fact that I've been gone for a while and because a lot of you are probably in quarantine (as am I) and need something to do, hence why this chapter is so long. It probably won't happen again and I'm sorry if it's too much all at once. My chapter lengths largely depend on when I feel like I've completed a scene and left myself a good place to start on the next chapter. Think of them as episodes in a way. **Major Character Death, Angst, and Violence Warnings** for this chapter. I know, I keep killing people, I'm sorry, it's nearly over though. I only have a couple more deaths in store before this story gets a wrap-up. I'm predicting that will be in the fairly far future, around chapter 15 maybe? We shall see. Thank you to everyone that continues to read this fic, it means a lot to me as I've said so many times. I hope quality was not lost in this chapter, it does bounce around a lot in the middle, I wanted to make sure I didn't leave out important scenes and gave each major point enough screen time. Let me know if it worked for you or if it epically failed. I appreciate you all, stay healthy and treat each other well during this time, your reviews and comments are always appreciated. ~Len-kun

Ch 12: Bloodstained Chocolate

The first few nights would be difficult, feeling the pureblood move around the dorms easily was unnerving. "_Those charms probably won't hold him back much, I can teach you some that are stronger if you wish...you might need to use such a thing against Iori as well when he comes." _Stella offered to the silverette as he closed his eyes in an attempt to rest before the night class arrived back from class.

"Iori isn't a vampire to my knowledge, nor would he let himself be turned into one..." Zero responded dryly.

"_Are you saying you willingly let Shizuka bite you? Or even Kuran Kaname?" _Stella questioned with a small tilt of her head.

"No...I could have stopped Kuran, I already had possession of Daitan, but..." lilac-amethyst eyes closed in internal frustration for a moment.

"_You didn't want to hurt him, at least with Bloody Rose you no the wound heals if tended to properly and quickly. But with us other weapons it is not so simple. You spared Kuran Kaname. Are you afraid of killing him?" _she questioned innocently as they sat across from one another. Zero frowned at her question, there wasn't a black and white answer to that anymore. He knew the risks and consequences of killing or letting him live.

"I'm not scared. I am a hunter, this is what we do for a living. No matter the status, a crazed vampire is a crazed vampire. Just as a rogue hunter is a rogue hunter. Dokeshi, Iori, and Kaname need to be handled before we can become peaceful. That is what you're going to say, correct?" he answered back to the child. Despite her appearing age Zero got the feeling she was much older than him, possibly even older then Cross.

"_Perhaps something along those lines yes, you took Dokeshi's death quite hard, she was someone you didn't know like Iori or Kuran. Will you be able to handle personal deaths on your hands? In order to continue our training, I'll need to know if you're strong enough to face those demons." _she explained casually, too casually for the hunter to be comfortable.

"I don't particularly have a choice. Threats need to be eliminated regardless of personal connection, besides...if I don't do something about him he could and probably will kill Shiki and the other nobles. There's nothing in his way to demolish everyone except me." Zero relented, this was going to happen, not only was he going to kill another hunter but now the to-be king of the vampire community.

"_Then let's not waste any more time talking, it's time you started to learn how to use my power. I took over your abilities when Kuran attacked you_, _I will now teach you how to fight on your own. You have a special ability to read the emotional auras of those around you, now we will turn that into reading your opponent's strategy in battle even before the fight begins." _Stella stood, a calm yet calculating smile on her lips. Beckoning the hunter to follow her deeper into the darkness behind them, a strong sense of unease filled Zero's body as he stood to follow, the scar on his collarbone burned as he walked. None of this felt right but an image of cyan eyes swept through his mind, pushing his cautious nature aside. This wasn't just for him, this was for all of them.

Instead of mingling with the others after returning to the moon dorms Shiki headed straight to his room, Zero was moved in, it was a good sign but it would likely be a hard night. It would still be another few days before word returned from the Council, and Kaname was clearly becoming less and less stable. The way he treated Yuuk earlier in the evening was enough to prove that to all the nobles. Now it was just a question of when he would snap, and who his first victim would be. "How was class?" the silverette asked once the noble walked in their room and closed the door. The cyan-eyed noble paused a moment before deciding to answer truthfully.

"I believe...I believe Kaname is going to target Yuuki-chan. He was very cold to her tonight, the nobles believe he is on the edge of a sanity break like what happened to his uncle." he explained carefully. He knew there would always be a need to protect the younger girl, but there was a risk getting involved and even more so if he were to try and intervene.

"I worry about what he could do to her...however I don't think it's wise for me to attempt to talk to him. The only way I can think of helping her is to go to Cross. But..." Zero sighed, there was no promise Cross Kaien could protect his childhood friend from Kaname. Not only was she trusting of him but she didn't know what was going on in the moon dorms. He would need to come clean to Cross and likely Touga as well.

"You would need to talk to Cross-san then." Shiki spoke the silverette's thoughts for him. Zero nodded and sighed, he wasn't sure if he was able to do that.

"It would destroy him for a time, his idea and his trust. Not to mention he would want to do something about him. It would be best to wait for the Council...even if it means she'll be in potential danger for a little bit. Cross will only be able to do something with their aid." he eventually decided, Shiki nodded and slipped in bed next to the hunter.

"We will look out for her too." he assured, hoping it would ease the silverette's mind.

"I know, thank you." a small smile broke through his uncertain expression as he quickly leaned over and kissed the noble before they both paused and a bright blush came over the hunter's cheeks. "I-um...sorry." he became quiet under Shiki's surprised stare. Zero was about to turn away from the vampire to face the wall, wishing a stray bullet could come through the closed door and penetrate his skull, but he stopped when a hand laid itself on his very warm cheek and gently turned him back to face the beautiful male next to him.

"Don't, don't turn away form me..." it wasn't a command as Zero was so used to hearing, it was a plea, the noble was worried he'd regretted his action and was begging him to stay. All they could do was continue to stare at each other, Zero at a loss for words and Shiki with a fragile heart on his sleeve as he waited for the object of his affections to say something.

"I won't. I'm not going anywhere." a soft snow-white hand clasped itself over Shiki's affirming the words he spoke.

By the time Takuma walked in the two had fallen asleep in each other's grasp. If only he had a camera. He would have let them sleep but the letter in his hand from the Council was worth the glare he'd receive from his friend. "Time to get up! We need to start on our homework!" he sang to the room effectively rouswing the hunter, lilac-amethyst eyes blinked in confusion momentarily as Takuma handed him the letter. Shifting to an upright position was difficult but the younger managed to get comfortable again before waking the noble next to him.

"What is it?" he questioned once he saw cyan eyes begin to open slowly. Takuma took out a notepad from his desk and started writing as he talked.

"Yagari-sensei gave us a textbook assignment and a short essay to write before next class. History related so I'm not too worried about it. But Shiki tends to postpone these kinds of assignments if I let him." the happy blond smiled as he passed his written note to the two of them. _~ "It's likely that Kaname will hear us if we talk out loud, the letter is an approval from the Council, they are going to ask for some type of proof from us. We have two and a half days before they call Kaname in unless something happens before then."~_ it read, Zero nodded but frowned. How were they supposed to prove something that had no hard evidence yet?

'Maybe it's time to involve Cross...as long as he is careful not to tip Kaname off about anything so the Council won't have any issues moving in. He may be able to help us get what we need.' Zero thought, he'd like to get the nobles on board with it too but involving too many people was bound to go wrong in some way. At this stage, it was very clear if anything went wrong it would result in spilled blood. "While you guys do that I should probably report back to the sun dorms before Cross thinks I've run off for good. Besides, he might have mission assignments I need to look over." Zero spoke as he replied to Takuma's message on the paper he and Shiki were given. Once he passed it back to the blond he waited for his input. Shiki and Takuma had become his lifeline and best advisors, anything he was going to do from now on they were going to be involved in. Takuma looked back at him with serious emerald eyes, silently asking if he was sure of his decision, Zero gave him a small nod. This wasn't going to be easy, he knew that, but it needed to be done. Besides, you can never hide from your parents for too long, he would find out one way or another. This was the best way.

"We'll accompany you to the sun dorms." Shiki spoke in his usual tone but Zero could hear the small waver in his voice. He was nervous and rightfully so.

Yuuki glanced out the window, confusion evident in her eyes as she mentally confirmed what Cross had announced. Zero was coming over with two of the nobles. It was strange considering last she checked her foster brother didn't have friends in the night class. Why had he been in the moon dorms in the first place? 'What is going on around here?' she questioned herself, annoyance sparking, Zero was again hiding things from her. Puffing her cheeks, a bit childishly, she headed to the kitchen to put on tea for the trio as Cross had asked. "I'll find out, one way or another." she whispered to no one just as a knock sounded at the door. Kaien came bounding from another room to greet his son and the nobles, unsurprisingly the grand gesture of trying to engulf the silverette in his arms was poorly received as he soon found himself in a pile next to the door. Yuuki's eyes roamed over the older boy as he walked in with Takuma and Shiki, something was different about his movements, he wasn't walking as confident as usual and it seemed he was favoring his left side just slightly. Had he been injured on a mission? Was that why he was with the nobles? Biting her lip in worry she picked up the tray of drinks and went to greet them.

"Please, boys, have a seat." Kaien voiced before she could say anything. The trio nodded and followed Cross into their main room where Yuuki was finally able to set down the tray. Bowing respectfully as she did so before turning her searing eyes on Zero.

"Where have you been?! Do you have _any_ idea how worried I've been about you?! What the hell happened? Did you get hurt? You've been gone for way longer than it would take you to do a mission. What happened and why didn't you at least check in!" she began demanding as soon as the three settled enough. Zero wasn't sure how to begin answering her questions, sure he was good at avoiding the truth but this was a special case. He needed to make something believable about his prolonged absence and a reason as to why he was in the moon dorms but not able to check in with Cross or her. The idea of telling her the truth crossed his mind briefly but that would definitely go over much worse.

"Kiryuu-kun came to us with fairly extensive injuries a few nights ago, of course it concerned us especially considering the rogue hunter issue that was the reason for the female day class student's injuries a while back. We asked him to stay and tell us everything he could so the vampire community could be aware. Of course in return we treated his injuries but given his status it will still be another day or two before he is able to join you for your usual duties. We were curious Cross-san, if the association has sent for him or has dropped off missions in his absence. Apologies for not talking to you both sooner." Takuma jumped in easily with his classic kind smile. Zero mentally sighed in relief, he would have to thank the noble later for the save. With Yuuki effectively out of the conversation they could focus on the things they needed to. Cross would talk to them privately since Yuuki wasn't a hunter, nor was she involved.

"Of course, let's discuss some more in my office." just as Zero suspected, Cross may act like an idiot at times but he could catch onto any hidden tone. He likely suspected they wanted to talk privately when they arrived. Possibly even before they got there. The trio agreed and stood, Shiki noticed Zero wince a bit at the moment but said nothing. Cross' eyes narrowed a fraction, he knew there was more to the story.

"Thank you." Takuma bowed slightly as they sat across from the ex-hunter in his office. Cross nodded, watching the trio silently interact with each other. He didn't need to prompt them, they would talk. "I'm sure you are at least mostly aware of what has been going on. I don't know how in-depth Takamiya-san or Yagari-sensei have been, but there have been recent developments." he started as they settled again.

"I was told of what conspired with Gaashi, I believe her name was, and we were aware of the Iori threat yes. Did he attack you while you were on a mission?" Kaien's tone was serious, one could argue it verged on dangerous even, sending chills through Zero's body as he shook his head.

"Unfortunately I didn't need to leave campus for these to come about. Shortly after the incident with Gaashi I was being treated for my injuries in the moon dorms, as you know it was decided I would stay there until fully recovered. Through recovery I was able to discover some once sealed abilities, I went back to the old house to learn about what was going on. Kuran was shown one of these things. One of my summonable weapons. I don't know what switched or changed afterward. He forced a blood bond that night between us before returning to the moon dorms...it only got much worse from there." the silverette began, stopping short before he could get to the worse of the two attacks. He didn't need to look at Cross to know he was angry at what he was hearing.

"But a blood bond doesn't cause _those_ injuries." the man stated, he knew it was likely Zero was still sensitive to the topic of whatever else transpired and assumed it was much worse than a blood bond.

"No, it doesn't. We believe something sparked a possessive madness in him. He wishes to possess Zero-kun, at all costs, in result of that he lost control of his sanity a week or so prior to today and attacked Zero-kun in his room. The nobles were only witness to the very end of the attack as was Takamiya-kun, from then on we have taken as much precaution as we can with his and our own safety. It is very possible Kaname will attack us or anyone that he decides is a threat for getting too close. The assault was extensive enough we decided to contact the Council claiming madness and we are to go in person to discuss the incident in further detail before they call him in for an evaluation and judgment. But the reason we're here is more out of concern for Yuuki-chan and you, seeing as you two are particularly close to Zero it is possible he will be hostile or even lash out at either of you. That is why Zero has been in the moon dorms without contacting you. It is best to keep you separated." Takuma stepped in again, Zero could see why he was such a valuable asset to the royal family and his own clan. He was very thankful he had both Takuma and Shiki to support him.

"I see, I agree that limited contact is for the best for now, I will keep an eye on everyone that comes in and out of the sun dorms until we get this resolved. The blood bond is another matter, and a delicate one at that, they can be broken but I will need to find the old books on how to do that. I believe I can count on you not being sexually active with Kuran-san, such acts do make it harder to break a bond." Cross was about to get up and start searching when Zero's voice broke through the silence.

"Certainly not anymore...but that...that's how the last attack started. Non-consensual." the silverette's voice was so quiet if the room hadn't been silent he likely wouldn't have heard it. But he did. And he was livid. Zero didn't think anger could get so bright, the entire room looked like it had been lit with a purple flame.

"I will wait for the Council's verdict, but regardless of what they say, I will not allow him to stay here even if it means going against the vampire community. I can't and won't overlook sexual assault. Pureblood or not he will be dealt with, I hope the Council makes the right judgement." he spoke to no one in particular, he was so angry Zero wasn't sure he remembered they were there.

"Whatever action is taken the nobles are here to support Zero, we have denounced him as our personal leader regardless of consequences." Shiki added as the trio stood once again, the night class would be in deep sleep by now so it was safe to return. Cross nodded his thanks but remained silent, Zero couldn't look at him as they left. Once the main door shut Yuuki came out from her hiding place in the hallway, tears streaming down her face as she tried to understand what she overheard. Kaname, her idol, not only attacked but _raped_ and tried to _kill_ her brother. He tried to _kill_ Zero.

"Monster." she whispered out before running up the stairs to her private room. She needed Artemis, she was going to find out why. Why would he do this, why would he hurt _anyone_ that way? Why Zero?! "What the fuck is _wrong_ with you?! You MONSTER!" she screamed out the window, she didn't care if anyone heard her. How dare he. How dare anyone do that to Zero, to her brother, her _protector_. She would kill him.

Zero sighed in annoyance, they were running out of time and aside from curt remarks or cold looks Kaname hadn't done anything they could claim as proof for the Council. He was starting to give up on the idea, tell the Council it was a trick or something from a rogue hunter to get them to turn on each other again. But the nobles were still holding onto the thought that something would come up. Without Zero being seen by most of the night class however, that was quite hard as there was no reason for him to lash out anyone. 'Maybe I should just be focusing on Iori, training with Stella should be over soon thankfully. I still feel like there's something wrong, Gaashi's magic still lives in me and I can feel it wanting to escape...maybe I should talk to Touga-sensei about that. Hopefully he won't shoot me in the process for being so careless with dangerous magic.' Zero sighed, out the window he could see the trees beginning to bloom, it seemed like it was just winter. How long had he missed the passing days? There was a tree trying to bloom in the middle of two much taller sakuras, it wasn't getting enough light and would probably die in another season or so. Eyes narrowing a bit he could feel the ground, the roots of the trees, water dripping off a leaf to land in the pond below. 'Not as though she said I couldn't practice outside our training sessions.' the silverette smirked slightly as he stood from the bed and walked over to the window. The others were still in class so he had some much-needed freedom. Opening the window to give himself more access he breathed in the air of spring, a time when magic thrived. Careful to keep himself from being noticed by any possible day class students or night class students not paying attention, focusing his energy on the small sakura he could feel his magic manipulating its branches. Leading it to grow until it broke through the canopy the others created. Blossoms sprouted and petals danced along a gentle evening breeze, it glowed in comparison to the others, a soft lilac hue surrounded its branches making Zero smile. He was strong enough again to be able to use magic without feeling its effects, that was a relief. He would have to propose the idea of practicing with someone to the nobles soon if he wanted to be adequate in a fight. That conversation would be a long one he was sure.

Shiki glanced out the window after a casual nap, he wasn't sure if he should consider Zero's former sensei the best or the worst in the classroom. The man let them do as they pleased for the most part, he didn't care if Takuma read novels, if Rima was eating snacks or if he himself was sleeping through lecture. All he seemed to care about was handing them assignments and giving them back once he had finished grading. Shiki was a middle of the road student, he wasn't a genius but he wasn't an idiot either and did the work that was asked of him on time. It was difficult to stay focused in class currently, all he wanted to do was be in the dorms with Zero. Even though Kaname hadn't made any move to hurt the silverette further it was clear his interests were solely on the hunter. That was never a good thing in the world of vampires. They were possessive creatures to put it politely and had no issues making that known. Even without being allowed near him the way the pureblood held himself reminded Shiki and the others he had his sights set, and there was nothing they could do about it. "Class dismissed." Touga's gruff voice rang out into the otherwise quiet classroom, pulling Shiki out of his thoughts, the noble couldn't help the flare of sudden energy he got from the idea of getting to spend the rest of the night with Zero. He had come to learn the hunter was very smart and often helped him and Takuma with subjects or problem assignments they struggled with. Doing classwork with him was enjoyable and spoke volumes of the silverette's patience and understanding. Gathering his things he casually walked next to Takuma and Rima toward the awaiting dorm gates. The path was silent when they returned from class which he was always thankful for, the fangirls were enough to deal with once per day, however this particular night the air felt off. It was too quiet. The atmosphere was so off-putting even Takuma looked unhappy and concerned.

"What's going on?" Ruka spoke quietly as the group stopped halfway to the dorms, waiting for something to happen.

"Cross-chan..." Rima spoke in her usual monotone causing the others to follow her line of sight into the nearby trees. Cross Yuuki slowly walked out from under a beautiful blooming sakura, it would have been an endearing sight to some on any normal evening but it wasn't a normal evening. Artemis rod glinted dangerously in the moon's light, normally child-like eyes were cold and angry. Everything about her aura had changed from the girl they usually saw every day and night. She walked without hesitation up to the pureblood, swiftly swinging the anti-vampire weapon to keep him from stepping any closer than an arm's length toward her or the gates to the dorms.

"The rest of you may continue to the dorms." her tone was commanding and steady, if Shiki didn't know better he would have thought they were looking at an actual hunter. Casting a glance to Takuma he was given a nod before he, Rima, Ruka, and Aido headed back to the dorms. Takuma had motioned Kain to stay back with him and the pureblood, Shiki had a feeling this was going to get messy for the younger perfect but his main concern was what would happen if Zero saw the situation out their window. He would surely try to intervene. Shiki needed to make sure that didn't happen.

"You need something from me, Yuuki?" Kaname's voice was smooth but not affectionate or warm as it once was toward her.

"Don't you _dare_ say my name like you don't know exactly why I'm here. And you two," she momentarily flicked her eyes to Takuma and Kain. "Are you planning to protect him? Protect this monster?!" anger filled her voice as her eyes landed back on cold wine hues. Takuma gave her a smile but his eyes showed no kindness in them as he spoke cooly.

"No, we are only here for your benefit, Miss Cross." he responded with a small nod from Kain. Yuuki nodded back, refusing to take her eyes off the powerful vampire in front of her.

"I never thought I would need to remind _you_ of this but I suppose Zero was always right about you. Purebloods only have control to a point, eventually they show you how unruly and carnal they are. I always believed you were the light in the vampire community! And yet you just toyed around with that idea, you let me drop my guard and had me believing you of all vampires were the best. Well, I got my wake-up call didn't I, now I see you the way you should be seen. A heartless, ruthless, soulless monster that doesn't deserve the title of prince. A direct product of Kuran Rido. I hate you! I hate you for what you did, for everything you've done!" voice rising in volume as she pulled back Artemis rod and charged at the vampire. Kaname used his aura to block the girl's attack, Yuuki was a human not a hunter and it wouldn't take much to end this fight.

'She's upset because of something you did, and she has every right to be. This is Yuuki, she's trying to protect the person she cares about from you.' Kaname reminded himself as he saw the tears in her eyes when she attacked again. Despite that he blocked her every swing or jab she wouldn't give up. She knew he was a pureblood and she didn't care. It wasn't about her.

_"Oh yes, a wholesome girl. Did you forget Kaname-san? This girl is trying to steal Kiryu-kun from you. She's only upset because you took his body from her, they already have a partial blood bond don't they? She will work with him to make it a full bond to override yours if you don't do something about her. You have the chance now, I suggest you don't waste it."_ there she was, that voice belonging to the unknown woman. Realization flared within the vampire just as Yuuki attacked again, dodging out of the way with speed faster than eyes could follow he landed a blow to her stomach. The sound that her back made as she was flung against the wall made Takuma flinch.

"I don't care if you hit me, it's nothing compared to what you did to Zero!" she screamed, clearly injured but still determined to keep fighting. She stood again and charged, another blow to her body, standing again she staggered forward but caught herself on Artemis. A moment passed for her to catch her breath before she again ran at the pureblood. "I won't stop. I won't!" she cried, managing to block part of his aura, however she wasn't able to move out of the way fast enough to avoid his second attack. She barely felt the claws rip through her shoulder but she assumed it would hit her soon. Adrenaline was curing her pain for now and she would exhaust herself before the pain was realized.

"Do your best to keep her alive, I'm going to get the Council elders." Takuma whispered to Kain before the blond bolted from the academy, as nobles they weren't allowed to intervene without reason but the Council elders could at any time. He got a few strange looks as he ran into the meeting hall but no one was about to stop him.

"Takuma..." his grandfather stated looking his grandson over with narrowed eyes.

"Kuran Kaname is attacking a student at the academy and I believe he is on a fast path to kill her. She is an innocent student on the perfect committee that escorts the night class. We need your assistance before anyone else gets hurt." he informed quickly which had most of the elders on their feet and out the door. His grandfather looked at him carefully before he stood.

"I will inform the association, we will need their assistance. Return to the academy Takuma." he directed before he too left the building. Takuma sighed in relief, it wasn't an ideal situation and was undoubtedly unfair to the girl but they needed this as proof to put the whole situation at rest.

'I apologize Kiryuu-kun, Cross-chan, but this is the only way we as vampires can deal with him.' he thought as he too quickly made his way back to the academy to see what the outcome would be.

The presence of so many vampires and hunters in a small area quickly alerted the night class and sparked concern at the noise. "What's going on?" Zero questioned as he and Shiki met the others downstairs in the common room.

"Kaname attacked Yuuki when she confronted him earlier this evening, the Council elders and it looks like the top members of the association are here to handle the situation." Ruka hesitantly informed from her place by the window.

"Is she hurt?" the silverette demanded, Shiki could feel the grip on his arm tighten as they waited for the rose-eyes noble to answer.

"It's unclear how extensive the wounds are but...no one comes out of a fight with a pureblood unscathed." her voice was quiet and almost remorseful as she continued to watch.

"I have to go out there." Zero spoke turing to look at Shiki.

"You can't. Let them handle it, these types of situations aren't for us to get involved in." the noble replied firmly, noting the spark of panic that drifted through his partner's eyes.

"I can't stay here when I know she could die! Shiki please...please. I can't be responsible for her death too." not even Aido could look at the hunter become so desperate, begging the noble like a scared and helpless child. Before Shiki could respons Takuma walked in, his eyes firm.

"If you stay in here she might die, however if you go out there she most definitely will. The only thing keeping her from certain death is that Kaname doesn't see you interacting with her. I know this is difficult Zero and I am asking a lot of you, but please trust us in this. It's the best we can do right now for both of you." he spoke firmly as he walked up to the hunter and his best friend. He could only imagine the inner struggle he was going through as the commotion got louder outside. Shiki pulled him into his arms as gunshots were fired, charmed bullets no doubt.

"There's got to be a way to help them..." he mumbled to the two nobles beside him as the shouting continued and the smell of blood reached them. Takuma looked into lilac-amethyst eyes, once again focused. It really was remarkable how he could push his own situation aside to focus on someone else's. As Takuma thought, Cross Kaien rushed in the doors.

"Let's start by breaking your bond." he suggested, book in hand, he looked at his foster son for approval. Zero nodded and stepped forward as the ex-hunter drew a selection of insignias on the ground around him.

"This will break the bond, but what about the effects afterward?" Shiki questioned knowing a broken bond caused nearly irreparable damage under normal circumstances.

"That is where you come in Shiki-kun, you will create a bond with Zero in order to stop those effects from harming him. It will need to be done quickly but I believe you will be fine, then we can decide what action to take. Is that alright with you both?" he inquired only briefly looking up from what he was doing. Shiki cast a glance at Zero and nodded, he had hoped making a bond with the silverette would be a bit more private than this but fate was often cruel. The soft blush on Zero's cheeks vanished as he turned back to Cross and gave him his approval. He just hoped they would have enough time before everyone outside succumbed to the mad prince.

Kaname felt his body grow hot, hunter magic felt as though it coursed through his veins. Burning him from the inside out. His way inside the moon dorms was blocked by the remaining Council elders and several hunters. Dodging to the left out of the path of a bullet he turned his back on Yuuki to face another line of hunters led by Yagari Touga. Eyes flashing he moved to run at them, expanding his aura he took a step and hissed as his body felt a pain unknown to him. Kneeling to catch his breath he noticed a feeling of loss. 'What is happening, none of them have hit me.' he growled to himself as he stood against the pain. Using his aura as a shield to block the projectiles he stalked back towards Yuuki, the one that started this all. As he reached for her unmoving body an arrow pierced through his aura, stabbing into his shoulder with ease. The burn was hotter than the fires of hell causing the prince to cry out in agony and jump back.

"Don't you fucking dare lay a hand on her!" an angry yet familiar voice yelled at him as he looked up at the wall in front of the dorms. Yuuki was now in the arms of a quickly retreating Kain while the other nobles stood guard. "I won't let you hurt her, or anyone else anymore. Chairman, Ichijo-san, what is your verdict?" Zero demanded, a glowing crossbow in hand, it was so bright...as if the sun itself had been forged into a weapon. "This is Youta*****, one of my weapons, and just as his name implies he is the weapon of the sun's arrows. One of the legendary hunter weapons entrusted to my family. His arrows burn through anything." Kaname growled at the hunter, on his neck was a new mark. He had a new bonded partner and broke the one they shared.

"Our verdict, as was decided unanimously, is that Kuran Kaname is clearly mad. Given the current display, the Council gives approval to the detainment or execution of Kuran Kaname from this moment forward. Do as you wish, Kiryuu-san." Ichijo Asato replied firmly. The vampire community may suffer for a while but it was better than allowing another corrupt Kuran to run freely.

"Very well, Shiki, Takuma, let's get this done." the hunter gave a nod to his lover and the other nobles as he faced the pureblood. 'Work with me, Youta, let's bring this to an end.' he requested, the magic in the arrow seemed to glow even brighter at his plea. Takuma charged with his sword, attacking up close and making the pureblood turn away from Shiki's blood whip that fought off Kaname's aura. Zero aimed, careful to make sure neither Shiki nor Takuma would get hit, he breathed out the last of his anxiety. With his body stable his finger caressed the smooth curve of the trigger and pulled the metal back in one final movement. "Shiki!" he shouted knowing the two would get burned if they stayed in the vampire's close vicinity. Dropping his whip the noble leaped backward, watching Takuma do the same as Kaname turned into the arrow. Dashing back to support Zero they watched in twisted relief as the sun's arrow plunged itself into the vampire's heart, a flame so hot it melted even his ashes within moments leaving only a smoldering ember and a hollow scream in the air before all went silent.

"Come, let's go see Yuuki-chan." Shiki encouraged, quietly pulling the silverette away from the scene and to the infirmary. Nothing more was said, their world came to a standstill.

Walking in the familiar infirmary the look in Suri's eyes told him all he needed to know about Yuuki's condition. They didn't have much time left. "Zero?" she whispered out, wincing at the amount of pain simply talking caused. Zero sat at her bedside and gave her a small nod as he took her limp hand in his own.

"You're such an idiot..." he whispered back causing her to pout for a moment before breaking out in a smile. "It's over, you did it Yuuki, he's gone because of you. You brought justice...and you saved me, thank you." he continued unable to hold back tears as he kissed her hand. Shiki walked over and put a hand on his shoulder as he nodded to Yuuki. The damage was clear, her body was broken and heavily coated in blood in a few places. And yet she still smiled at both of them.

"All...all I ever wanted...was for you to be happy and cared for, just as you...always cared for me. Shiki-san, please take good care of...my brother...he's the best I could have asked for." breath coming slow she pushed through her sentence with her smile never leaving.

"I promise I will." he replied with a deep bow making her giggle.

"I'm tired...I think it's time for me to sleep...I love you both." giving Zero's hand a gentle squeeze she closed her eyes allowing the melodic beeping to guide her to sleep unaware of the tears that would be shed but Zero, Cross, even Shiki and Touga as her heart monitor flat-lined.

"We never gave you enough credit, but truthfully you saved us all Yuuki-san, may you rest in happiness." Takuma gave the new sakura a smile as he placed his own gift at the bottom along with many others from students and staff alike in the following nights. Cards, candles and various other items collected, Takuma smiled a little more at the offering Zero and Shiki had left. A beautiful box of chocolate roses.

**A/N:** Holy shit that was a long chapter. And we say goodbye to two more beloved (sorta) characters. RIP. But in the world of fanfiction life moves on and I'm doing my best to work on chapter thirteen. It won't be as long, I promise, but hopefully you'll enjoy it just as much. *** **Youta: a masculine name meaning great sunlight, I apologies if this section wasn't super clear, basically after Shiki and Zero's bond became stable enough it was decided that Zero would use another summonable weapon to kill Kaname. The summonable weapons will come up again in the next chapter so keep Youta, and Daitan in mind! Now with Kaname out of the way I'm going to give my boys a break before we address the Iori thing which hasn't slipped my mind I promise. This fic is slowly turning into a novel, oh well, not like it's getting any shorter. As always your helpful criticism and/or questions will always be answered or at the very least acknowledged. Forgive me if there are some spelling and grammar errors, I'm never going to get a beta. I gave up lol. And, lastly, if these kinds of stories aren't you thing I totally get it, but that's not my fault and I don't deserve your flames. You can find a lot of short crack-fics and fast smut-only fics on here I promise. I'm not that type of writer. I am curious though, do people want to see more simple fics? I don't consider myself very good at them but if people want to read them I can make some in between my longer fics. Let me know what you think, I always appreciate your responses and want to write what you will read. Quickly adding onto that thought before I lose you, are people getting bored of VK? Is this fandom something I should continue writing predominantly or are there others you'd like to see? I may have mentioned I _do_ have other fandoms I write for quite a bit but haven't posted since there's not as many of them. Both large and small fandoms. If you ever want to switch it up let me know, I'm happy to accommodate. Thank you all again for reading and all that you do, stay safe, eat well, and I'll see you all again with chapter 13! ~Len-kun


	13. Ch 13: Bonded

**A/N: **Okay it's been a little bit, I hope everyone is doing the best they can right now but in an effort _not_ to focus on the global issues I'm coming out with another chapter! I'm going to be honest for a second here and say I don't have a lot of love for this story right now, I think it's going just fine and I'm still continuing to work on it but the mental place I've been looping in and out of makes it really hard to consistently produce things I'm enjoying. It's mostly within the construction and flow of sentences and words, I feel like it's really obvious that I'm pushing hard just to get something on paper and if you feel that while reading this I understand and I apologize. Emotional state affects creativity so much and it shows. Hopefully, I'll get back to feeling myself sooner rather than later but I did want to give you guys that bit of background because I know I can write better and if you've been following my stories for more than just this fic you can probably tell as well. Regardless, here we are, doing our best and I hope you enjoy it anyway. I did add another OC character, as I said before Zero's weapons are going to come into play more now that we're kind of reaching the point of his magic and what it is Stella is doing. I hope that portion of the chapter isn't too confusing but as always if you have questions please let me know. Thank you all again for reading and please enjoy chapter 13!

Ch. 13: Bonded

Shiki stood several yards away from the silverette in a clearing in the woods, the hunter had been asking him to help him practice for three weeks following Cross Yuuki's death. Eventually the noble gave in to his partner's request on the condition that they take it easy to start. Though his wounds had healed, Shiki worried about the silverette doing too much at once. "You're sure about this?" the noble questioned for the nth time since he had initially agreed, Zero sighed and rolled his eyes as he turned to the vampire before him.

"I am, I have to figure out what kind of influence she has on my magic, and my body. Even Rose is uncomfortable being handled lately and she is my longest bonded weapon. If Stella has a negative effect on her and the others I need to figure out how to expel that magic from my own." he responded honestly. It had been about a week of trying to communicate with his weapons normally, he had attempted to summon Daitan once but she refused which meant he wasn't trusted. The only way that happened was through the alteration of his magic, blood bonds didn't change magic but the entity known as Stella was magic in its rawest form. Negative magic could change his ability to use the weapons that were bonded to him originally. The only way to figure out what Stella's effect on him was to use the magic she had been training him with. Shiki gave him a worried once-over but nodded, this was important to his lover and if his suspicion was correct it could leave him stranded mid-fight, a risk Shiki wasn't willing to take after they had been through so much thus far.

"Alright...but we can't stay out here too long..." Zero nodded his agreement and took his formal stance as his power grew steadily filling the arena. Something felt different, even before he summoned a weapon his vision of the surrounding trees had changed. Everything had become darker than he remembered. Trees loomed and the surrounding vegetation turned black, as though all life had been drained from it. This was not his magic, this was something far darker and thirsting for blood. He was almost afraid to look at Shiki, fearing what the noble looked like through such a lense.

'I'm not going to hurt him, no matter what it makes him look like, it's not him. She's forcing dark magic through me, things are going to change but it's not real. Think, don't act.' he repeated to himself before looking at where the object of his affections once stood, now replaced by a far more menacing looking creature. Glowing red eyes and elongated fangs, once beautifully pale skin now shrouded in dark spots and bloodstains. 'Is she trying to make me kill him? What is the purpose of this?' he questioned as he continued to take in the world around him.

"Zero-sama, you finally came." a new but not unfamiliar voice greeted him, looking to his immediate left stood a young man with smoldering auburn eyes. He dressed in all black and kept in the shadows of the trees with a cigarette in his hand. He was one of the oldest Kiryuu forged blades, an existence that could cut through any form of light if used by the wrong person.

"I thought you were sealed away, Kage, what is going on. Why have you come?" the weapon master questioned the older man, he wouldn't hurt Zero seeing as it was only through Kiryuu blood that he could exist but the idea of him showing up at all was concerning.

"For the same reason you came to the woods tonight, this new existence claiming to be a wieldable magic is changing those around you and you yourself. Though you put a stop to her progression when the Kuran prince was killed she is still active within you. The others will soon be unable to be reached if this continues." Kage informed casually, he didn't particularly enjoy the company of the light weapons in the Kiryuu arsenal but he wasn't about to let them get smothered out by some fake either. Weapons had a duty to their masters.

"Then what do I need to do to get rid of her, and how much time do I have left?" a hint of fear etched into his voice as he spoke but Zero was determined to find the answer.

"She talks to the Usaki twit, I assume she's using him as she's trying to use you. We won't be able to guarantee your protection at this at this rate, but we can promise she will perish. I will be your weapon in your clash with Usaki Iori, you must figure out how to seal the dark magic that now flows within you otherwise you risk losing everyone to her madness." he answered finishing his cigarette and flicking the butt into the blackened grass and eyed the noble across from them.

"Don't let yourself get out of hand Kage, I only have one target in this fight." the silverette warned, weapon or not he could still do some damage to the older man if he chose. Kage nodded and tore his eyes away from Shiki before bowing deeply to the hunter.

"Of course, Master Kiryuu." he relented before vanishing into the trees once again as Zero closed his eyes, willing his magic to recede until it was back to normal. Blinking he found himself staring at a concerned Senri Shiki, they were still in the forest and everything around them had returned to normal save for the circle of dead grass that encompassed them.

"I think that's enough for today." Shiki voiced seeing clarity back in his partner's eyes. He wasn't sure what happened or what the silverette saw but his odd behavior was enough to put him on edge for the rest of the evening.

"Go on ahead, I need to talk with Cross. It won't take long." Zero responded after taking a moment to catch his breath, dark magic was very draining to use and he was sure that was purely because it wasn't voluntary use. He didn't have control like he used to, relying on magic too much without regulation could lead to an unpleasant death.

"What about?" Shiki wondered, allowing the other to lean on him for support while they walked back to the main part of campus.

"Black magic, and how my parents sealed it the first time." lilac-amethyst eyes darkened considerably at the idea as the air grew serious and quiet. "You need to be careful too, we have a bond so it's possible she will try to manipulate you like she did Kuran." he added on as they stopped. Shiki turned to face the hunter and firmly kissed his lips.

"Power doesn't interest me, your safety does, anyone trying to convince me otherwise can fuck off. Let's go see Cross." Zero couldn't help but laugh at the once emotionless noble using expletives despite the context. Maybe Aido once claiming he was a bad influence wasn't entirely wrong but it was comforting to know the other cared for him and only him.

"Let's hope he doesn't lose his mind, this is asking quite a lot of him even if he doesn't know the direct answer." he sighed as they knocked on the man's door once they got into the sun dorms. Shiki only hummed in agreement, the ex-hunter had been through quite enough at his age already. Zero was worried about adding more stress than necessary.

Unsurprisingly it was Seiren that opened the door with Kaito not too far behind her, the two of them and Touga had begun living with Kaien in order to ease his grief and make sure he could feed himself. Zero and Shiki would visit often as well but the silverette was grateful for the more permanent figures around his foster father.

"Zero-san, Shiki, welcome. Cross-san and Yagari-san are in the study, we were just about to deliver desserts and tea." Seiren casually informed as she let them inside.

"Thank you, we came to ask them something." Zero explained while the four made their way to the Headmaster's study room. Shiki knocked twice before the door was promptly thrown open revealing the joyful man and a stoic Touga behind him.

"Welcome welcome! Such a lovely surprise to have you two drop by! Please everyone come in, thank you for the tea and sweets!" he smiled, though slightly forced, as he stepped aside for them.

"I wish we were here on more favorable terms but I have questions for both you and Touga-san." Zero began once the group had settled comfortably in the room.

"Of course, what's going on?" Kaien prompted, growing serious once again.

"I need to know how my parents sealed the essence of dark magic. The possibility that everyone here is in danger because of the magic in me transferred by Gaashi is more than likely. I need to know how to seal it or something to that effect." Touga looked as though he had been dreading those very words, clearly he knew the answer but it made him uneasy and Zero wasn't sure he wanted to know why. Unfortunately, he didn't have a choice.

"And if it costs you your life? You still wish to go through with it?" the one-eyed hunter gruffed out eventually noting his former student studying him carefully. There would always be a reckless streak in the brat he was sure, but he hoped he wouldn't be so stupid to lose his life for an easy solution. Zero seemed to think about the question for a moment, staring at nothing in particular before his eyes landed back on Touga's.

"I will do everything I can to do this without venturing into that territory, if the only known way to seal such a thing is by self-sacrifice then I will find another method." he eventually replied, much to the silent relief of the others in the room. He wasn't sure what the cost would be to re-seal the dark magic, but after all this time and every painful night in which all he wanted to do was die, he knew he wanted to keep living. He not only had someone he wanted to live beside but a chosen family he cherished, he wasn't about to give that up without a fight. And fighting is what he did best.

"Originally to seal the dark magic it was given to an unknowing host, or you in other words, but that was to seal the magic and leave it powerless as long as it wasn't activated. An assumed to be foolproof plan but it wasn't believed there would be any lingering members of the Usaki or Ginha clans able to resurrect it. Obviously, we now know that's not the case and the process was brutal enough the first time so I don't particularly suggest we use that method again any time soon." Kaien sighed with his hands clasped over his teacup. He refused to put the lives of two more people in danger while there was still a threat walking around that would only get them in the same mess a few years down the road at best.

"So what if we didn't seal it this time...what if we destroyed it, for good? Once Usaki Iori is dead there won't be anyone left that's able to use dark magic if the essence is destroyed right?" Shiki asked with a look to Kaien and then Touga. Zero had officially caught him up to speed about the events that had been going on at the academy and association outside of the things that the night class knew about, to say he was surprised at the number of things the vampires aside from Kaname had been blissfully unaware of would have been an understatement however he knew that it wasn't as though they were kept in the dark for any sinister reason. More than anything he was almost embarrassed about how much he didn't notice.

"It's never been done successfully, the dark essence has been fused with the host's being including their soul. It's nearly impossible to remove it without killing them in the process or causing irreversible damage that would leave them in the best cases an empty walking shell." Kaito supplied dryly, he had never personally witnessed anything like this but he had been told many tales of hunters attempting to remove dark magic from another hunter and it was safe to say none of the reported hunters came back well off. Most of them were killed later on purely out of mercy by the association leaders.

"Even if there was such a possible procedure, we would have to make sure Usaki Iori dies first since it would depend on him to revive itself if we were to remove it." Seiren added in quietly.

"There might be a way...it's not technically a legal procedure but I did read a plan my parents had written out in case something went wrong sealing the dark magic in another host. It's not one hundred percent risk proof, nor has it ever been put into formal practice...but if they made a plan they would have had to test it to an extent at some point and prove it sufficient enough to be an option. My parents wouldn't have taken failure into consideration, so they would have had to have tested it at some point meaning it most likely works." Zero stepped in again after a few moments of silence, there had been a scroll he read over detailing the charms needed to be performed in order to remove one's soul from their body. It wasn't an amateur ability by any means but if they wrote it, they had to have performed it meaning it was possible for him to do the same.

"And that procedure is?" Kaito prompted his friend growing worried. He had trusted Zero and his parents with his life many times over, they were the best for a reason, however they were only able to do so well because they had a lack of care for the consequences that could befall any action, hence the situation they were in right now, even if they made a plan that didn't mean there wouldn't be a price and he could guess it wasn't going to be cheap.

"To remove one's soul and physically _cut_ out the essence of dark magic. Without a soul, the dark magic will dissipate but you have to re-purify the host's soul by sealing them for a time to make sure it doesn't have the ability or the grounds to come back. Usaki Iori needs to be defeated but he doesn't necessarily have to be defeated by me personally, my weapons are already mostly unable to fight with my magic due to the properties of it being changed by the dark magic. But if I allow someone else to take over the bond I have with my weapons mid-fight they can take on Iori successfully and I can start the process of removing my soul, someone else will have to cut out the dark magic at the same time Iori is killed so it will be fully destroyed. After, my soul will have to be sealed so it can purify itself. I don't know what that's formally supposed to look like but...my parents said it should take care of itself until the time comes for the seal to be broken." Zero was used to people looking at him like he had gone crazy, rather it was pretty common most of the time he opened his mouth, but the looks that he was getting from the five other occupants in the room made him feel more self-conscious about what he said than if he had walked in the room naked and proclaiming undying love for Aido.

"No way, that's extremely detailed and practically begging for a fuck up on someone's part. There's way too much risk." Kaito immediately argued, there was no way in any living hell that he would allow a plan with so little allowance for error to be carried out for a situation like this. There was no promise that it would work or guarantee that everything would turn out fine afterward assuming they were able to carry it out in the first place. None of them had experience with charms like these and he wasn't about to allow his partner to become an experiment.

"Kaito has a point, tampering with a soul in any caliber isn't legal in either community for a reason. Not even vampires would attempt something like that." Shiki agreed, there was also the problem of being sealed, while it had been done to purebloods and nobles quite often it wasn't practiced on hunters. Much less hunters that had been turned.

"I know it's not the most practiced thing we've tried, but each charm separately is doable. Shiki already has a bond with me meaning I can temporarily give him control of Kage and the others as long as he agrees to it. Seiren is the most precise out of all of us and you have Kaito to keep you stable, Cross and Touga can initiate the seal. It's not perfect but we're running out of time on both frontiers." the silverette argued back, he was worried too, this wasn't ideal for anyone and if something were to go wrong it was possible they all went down with him.

"The bottom line is that it's the only plan that gives everyone a chance to survive right?" Touga's voice broke through the air before the argument could continue between the two hunters.

"Everyone but Usaki Iori, yes." Zero nodded.

"High-risk high reward, your mother always used to repeat that like a mantra anytime we were on a mission. I agree it isn't a plan that's favorable but I believe this is the only option we have. If you're willing to go to this lengthy extent then I support it." Kaien added on with something of a nostalgic smile though he never looked up from his tea. Touga looked over at the man that had been responsible for the life of the young hunter ever since his parents' murder, regardless of his sometimes questionable ideas Touga knew better than to question his intuition.

_"Follow a Kiryuu into battle and you'll come out victorious but, follow a Kiryuu's plan into battle and you'll come out a legend. Trust is more than essential with them Yagari-kun, you'll be amazed by some of the things they manage."_ he remembered Kaien telling him when he had first met Zero's father though at the time the man had no intention in starting a family.

"Cross is right, this is what we have to work with and trust what they gave us. We'll need that document, error isn't an option so you better study the living hell out of it." he said as he stood from his place by the window. Zero gave them both a look of gratitude.

"We'll go get it immediately." Shiki assured before the two bid their goodbyes and headed for the door. Kaito wasn't happy, but in order for this plan to work he had to participate.

"You really believe this is going to work out?" he questioned turning to the former legendary hunter.

"The Kiryuu Clan were known as the best tacticians to grace the association's walls. I trusted them then, and I trust them now. Their bonds ran the strongest, their planning was immaculate and I have no doubt in Zero's ability to do more than just follow in their footsteps." the man answered with a smile to no one in particular. Kaito mentally sighed but nodded and turned to his stoic girlfriend.

"I suppose we should fit you with a precision knife." he mumbled as she took his hand in her own, the bond Kaito shared with her might be tested during the process but he needed to trust they would be alright.

**A/N: **Aaahh and there we have chapter 13! I know progress has been slow over the last...however long it's been since I started uploading this fic but things are about to really fast from here on out. I'm predicting maybe three more chapters at most. Bittersweet to end fics like this that I'm personally pretty invested in and I honestly hope you feel the same, obviously my writing never stops so it won't take long for a new one to emerge after this but I'm not sure which one it'll be yet. Regardless, I'll save that sap spiel for the final chapters, right now how do you feel? I'm personally pretty excited about where the story is going to go next and I will always do the best I can to relay as much information as possible as accurately as possible to you guys. Is the story up to par with you or were you expecting a bit more from it? I'd love to hear your feedback as always and while I'm sad that it'll be ending soon I look forward to whatever journey we go on next. Let me know if you have a particular fanfic in mind that you want to see written out, it can be from my VK In-Progress series if you'd like me to explore more relationships with Zero and the other characters of Cross Academy or if it's a different fandom that you'd like to see. I'm open to it all as long as I can get a grasp on the characters. Thank you all for reading and continuing to come this far with me, I honestly appreciate it more than words describe. Until next time! ~Len


	14. Ch 14: Usaki Iori

**A/N: **Hello hello, I apologize this didn't come out as soon as I wanted but with all the current world events I've been a little busy. I won't go into it because I'm sure everyone has heard a lot about everything by now but due to protesting and some other emotional struggles I can't expect myself to push it too much. Regardless I'm doing what I can and I hope everyone enjoys this chapter! For reference on kinda where we are, I just finished handwriting page 142 and I consider this to be the beginning of the end. So I'm thinking maybe three or four more chapters at most before I'm finished, at least that's what I'm currently predicting although I may have said that in the last chapter. If I did well...that's just how it goes sometimes, bear with me if you will. I also noticed that I spell Zero's last name with one 'u' but in my summary I spelled it with two. The correct version to my knowledge is 'Kiryu' which is what I will be using from now on if there's any discrepancy about that or confusion within this fic I deeply apologize, I did fix it in the summary. I know this chapter is a bit shorter than some of the others, I apologize for that too but I wanted to get it to you and as I mentioned briefly a lot of my concentration is not on the leisure time quarantine has graced me for the moment, I hope you can forgive me. Now onto chapter 14, finally!

Ch. 14: Usaki Iori

Zero attempted to stifle a yawn as he re-read over the scroll for what felt like the thousandth time in a row, it wasn't as though he could practice the charms without causing serious issues so he took to reading and memorizing every detail to the best of his abilities. The last time he focused so hard on one task was likely his assessments for his hunter title. An event that seemed so irrelevant now. "You should get some rest, you've been in here since before the last time the moon rose. You must be tired." Takuma suggested from off to the side of the library, probably looking for a new romance novel to read in his free time.

"I have to make sure I know this upside down, backward, and then some. If I don't and something goes wrong..." he cut himself off, unable to take the idea of causing so much pain and grief should the others die. The possibility of error was still too great and the drive to complete the charms perfectly the first and only time he would use them was what had kept him from leaving the library for nearly three nights. Shiki and Takuma would check up on him every few hours but had been unable to convince the hunter to rest.

"You won't be able to do anything if you collapse from exhaustion. Not to mention you've barely eaten anything since we returned. At this rate, you'll be lucky if you can stand much less fight." Shiki grumbled as he walked into the room. He was worried and angry, he had been brushed off for two nights already and he wasn't going for a third. He would move his lover by force if he had to.

"I've done worse to myself..." the silverette mumbled, leaning back when Shiki came up behind him.

"I'm sure you have, but that's not the point. Please, Zero, come to bed and we can study this more tomorrow..." Shiki went from irritated to exhausted begging that tugged at the hunter's bond, telling him his mate was being neglected. A small feeling of guilt washed over him before he stood, a little less steady than he would have liked, and turned to his partner.

"Okay...let's go to bed." he kissed the cyan-eyed male and rolled up the scroll before the two bid Takuma a goodnight and left for their room. Shiki allowed Zero to lean on him as his fatigue began to take over, at least he knew it would be an easy night.

"You really think your weapons will listen to a vampire? Rose doesn't like anyone besides you, I can't imagine her being pleased getting handed over to me..." Shiki questioned as he watched the silverette read over the scroll again, even though he was confident in Zero there were still questionable parts of the plan.

"It'll mainly be Kage, he can be difficult but he wants this to be over as much as anyone else. I wouldn't be too surprised if he's figured out what we're doing for himself by now. He can guide you through the fight but I doubt you will have too much trouble, Iori is a human hunter after all. That being said, please be careful. I won't be there...if anything happens please call for help. I don't want anyone risking more than they have to." lilac-amethyst eyes stared into cyan, begging Shiki to give him some form of reassurance they would be alright.

"I'm trusting you with your life, you can trust me with mine." came the honest answer, it wasn't a direct promise so there was no way he could break it. Zero sighed and gave him a nod of understanding. It was difficult to think of Shiki fighting against someone trained to kill beings like him but he had to trust that the noble and his sword would pull it off just fine. Shiki knew his response wasn't the most comforting, but it was for the best not to be too confident just yet. There were a lot of things he couldn't promise his partner which hurt him deeply, being unable to comfort your mate adequately was never a good feeling but with Zero it was particularly strong. It didn't help that Shiki wasn't particularly apt at comforting others verbally in the first place. Instead of trying to talk, he wrapped his arms around the silverette and leaned his head on his shoulder. He felt Zero sigh more than he heard it but a hand came up to run fingers through his hair a moment later. "Let's talk a break, swamping our minds with this every day is tiring." Shiki voiced after a moment of silence between the two of them. He didn't wish to spend every moment with his lover worrying about Usaki Iori. He could see how it was draining to everyone but especially hard on Zero. A quiet humm confirmed the noble's suspicion before he was being led upstairs. They laid together in bed, Shiki nuzzled his way into the taller male's chest after they had removed their jackets and changed into more casual clothing. They often laid together in silence, allowing each other to bask in the room's calm atmosphere. Zero had especially appreciated the noble's easy-going nature as he was still trying to become comfortable with intimate touch. Shiki admired his willingness to push his own boundaries every now and then and the determination the silverette had to become a 'normal' partner for the noble even though Shiki expressed that he didn't care if it took another lifetime or more for Zero to become trusting to that level. The man had never been the overly trusting type in the first place, for good reason, and Shiki knew it would take time to earn all of it much less understand all the other quirks Zero had. But they were on this road together and as long as they both tried Shiki was sure it would be fine.

"After this is over...I'm thinking it's time I move out of Cross Academy, not much good seems to happen the longer I stay." Zero eventually mumbled out, truthfully he wasn't sure where he would go but it seemed the academy kept attracting threats the longer he stayed. He had been going over the idea with himself for a few days but he had a partner that also had an input and say in what would be their future together. It gave him a distraction from thinking about the current situation.

"Where would we live?" Shiki questioned turning to look up at the older vampire, Zero was a little surprised at him being so open to the idea at first but realized that without a distinguished pureblood leader the nobles were pretty much free to do as they pleased.

"I don't know, maybe another town or somewhere not too far so we can come visit but not next door per se. I guess we'll have to look around." the silverette shrugged a bit, Shiki hummed in agreement. He could understand the wanting to move away from the academy especially after Yuuki's death, besides Zero he didn't have any reason to stay himself outside of Takuma and Rima whom he assumed would always stay close by. Zero trusted Takuma immensely and Rima was Shiki's model partner. The four of them would likely always stay in touch, Seiren and Kaito would also likely always be in touch with them. Before Shiki could bring up the topic of their friends he felt Zero stiffen under his head before the silverette began to sit up.

"Something wrong?" he asked, concern washing over him when he saw the look in his partner's eyes.

"There was a breach in the barrier, he's here, it's time to get this over with." with a breath of understanding Shiki stood and watched as Zero grabbed Bloody Rose from the side table, they met Takuma in the hall and shared a passing nod with the worried noble before being graced by the hostile air outside the moon dorms.

Near the gates stood a man around their age, a little shorter than Zero was but the anger encasing his aura told Shiki not to take him lightly. Muddy blond hair swept wildly on his head as though he had been walking in a storm, Zero could tell his jaw was clenched and his hand trembled from the grip around the hilt of what looked like a katana. He looked like he couldn't wait to get his hands around Zero's neck, a hatred the hunter hadn't felt from anyone in a long time. "Are you alright?" Shiki asked though neither of them took their eyes off Usaki Iori, he would strike soon, they could teel it.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that question?" Zero half mused to which Shiki rolled his eyes. "I'm alright, I trust us, I trust you and Kage will be a good team." he answered honestly. Shiki nodded as they heard the maniacal laughter came from ahead of them.

"I didn't know you needed a babysitter, Kiryu, did the death of your little doll girl shake your confidence? Poor thing, so hurt, how do you enjoy the feeling of watching everyone around you perish? Your friends, your family, no one will be left after I'm done. Not even you. As much as I'd love to watch your agony once everyone dies, I have other business to attend to once you're gone." neither of the vampires flinched at his taunts, they wouldn't fall to anger that easily and risk getting harmed.

"It was quite the elaborate plan you've worked out, but going after day class girls and using pawns only speaks to your inherent cowardice of facing any real threat. Did you really believe you could use Gaashi to kill me first? A pathetic attempt to say little but I suppose that speaks to your family line quite well." Zero countered without a trace of remorse for his harsh words, he had no interest in playing nice with delusional killers. As Iori approached them seething eyes looked onto Zero's calculating ones, he wasn't scared of Iori and he wanted the other to know it.

"I'll take immense pleasure in dismembering your body, Kiryuu, I'll make you live in the pain you caused us until you _beg _me to kill you out of mercy for your agonized soul." the snarl sparked a wave of anger in Shiki but he attempted to stay silent, they needed Iori to attack first so Zero could get to the sun dorms with Cross and the others.

"I will never beg, especially not to a powerless _pawn_ like you. Just like the war between our clans, the Kiryuu name will _always_ reign superior to an Usaki. You could train a lifetime and never be able to scratch me." Zero smirked with a cruelty Shiki hadn't seen, it made him inwardly shiver even if he knew it was just an act. What could only be called a battle cry erupted from Iori as he charged the vampire, prompting Shiki to call Zero's dark sword, Kage, and intervene. The clash of metal was heard as Shiki thrust the sword forward and knocked the offending blade off target. Zero stepped aside and sent a knowing look to his mate before he sprinted to the sun dorms, they were on a time limit now and only had once chance. Iori stuttered in his step from the unfamiliar weight of another sword but he wouldn't be disarmed so easily, instead, turning his attention to the noble that now stood in front of him.

"Running off, coward, and who are you? Another one of Kiryu's dolls he's using to keep his precious reputation of being a spotless hunter like all the other Kiryus claim to be?" deciding against verbally challenging the enraged hunter on the subject of his lover Shiki stepped back and merely looked at the being before him for a few moments. Bringing Kage up into a defensive stance he felt the sword spark with an unknown dangerous magic.

"I refuse to allow scum like you to get anywhere near Zero. He is more of a hunter than the likes of you could ever think to be." with all traces of emotion wiped from his mind and body Shiki became cold and ruthless. A Kuran trait he'd rather not have but since he did it might as well be put to good use for a cause he approved of. He just hoped he would be able to come back from it. Iori's eyes narrowed, sensing a change in the noble's once easy demeanor. Whatever he was to Zero the hunter could sense a deep connection.

"He's got you pretty good I see, a devoted follower, a lonely noble I assume. He doesn't really care for you though, he's a Kiryu, they're made to ensnare people then take what they want and leave them for dead." yellow-green eyes trailed up and down Shiki's frame, a smirk firmly planted on his face. Shiki tried not to let the comment enter his mind, much like one did with Aido's rude remarks, feeling Kage give him another jolt of electricity he moved at top speed toward the hunter. It was time to end this.

"What's the status on the fight?" Seiren questioned, a worried edge to her voice as she did her best to keep the knife in her hand steady. Zero's soul was suspended in front of them, she could see a clear distinction from his normal blue-purple hue to the black ink of the dark essence.

"Don't worry about that right now, focus on the soul, can you cut it out?" Kaito stepped in from behind her. He and Touga were using magic to keep the silverette's vital functions working as Seiren carefully cut away at the dark essence.

"It's not that easy, I can't remove all of it at once, I've gotten most of it off but there's one patch left. The part that's connected to him directly." she replied wiping the small charmed knife on a clean towel, her hands were beginning to perspire making it hard to control.

"Deep breath, you can do it, it's almost over. Looks like Shiki-san is nearly done too, no more playing around." Kaito assured after taking a quick glance out the window. Shiki had Iori backed near the forest and in a permanent defensive position. Seiren nodded and slipped the thin blade in between Zero's soul and the essence, it was smooth like jelly but cutting through it wasn't easy and knowing that a slip could cause irreversible damage didn't make it any easier. Holding her breath she cut along the final trim stopping just before it could be removed.

"Give Shiki a sign, once it's removed it's going to seek out Iori if he's not dead." she told Cross, keeping her body as still as possible. The man nodded and opened his window to call down to the noble but before he could do so he watched as magic was expelled from the sword and encased the lower grounds in a thick black fog.

**A/N: **Yay, the beginning of the climax! We finally get to meet Iori in-person (well kinda in person, you know what I mean) and I'm super excited for the next chapter to take place. I don't want to seem overly-eager for this fic to be over but I've been planning out my ending literally since the beginning. In fact, I usually have the ending or middle-ending of the story planned out before I even start my first chapter so I look forward to seeing what everyone thinks of it when we get to our final destination. I still haven't planned every single detail so some of it will probably come as a surprise to both of us but everything I do have concretely planned I'm sticking to. Again thank you all for your reviews, your follows, etc. I always appreciate it and it makes me so happy to read the things you guys say. If you haven't left me a note already on which teaser in my VK In-Progress series you'd like to see as a full fanfiction next and are willing to take the time to do so I'd super appreciate that that too! Stay safe out there, stay healthy, and keep your friends and family in mind. Until next moonrise! ~Len


	15. Ch 15: Not Alone, Not Now

**A/N: **Hi and welcome back! I know it's been a while since I've posted a chapter and I'm so sorry about that. I've been going a bit crazy lately since I will be moving houses this month and with everything else going on in the world, that doesn't mean I've been slacking too much in the writing department though! As always I want to get out good chapters and I hope this one meets that standard. In other news, I really only have one chapter left of this fic based on how I'm feeling right now. So! If you haven't let me know what you'd like to see written out next please, please leave me a comment on my VK In-progress series. If you've already done so but haven't checked out my latest chapters I would love it if you would. If you've done that too thank you so, so, so much I really truly appreciate it! Right now it's mostly between Lone Rose, My Name, Is Zero and Under Silver Moons so if nothing changes in the couple weeks following the end of this fic it'll likely be one of those three. But, enough with the future plans, you're here for right now, and right now is chapter 15. Enjoy! ~Len

Ch. 15: Not Alone, Not Now

Shiki blinked at his surroundings, unsure of what exactly happened, he could still sense Usaki Iori moving around but his vision was compromised by the fog-like substance around them. 'What's going on?' he asked looking down at the sword in his hands.

"_This is for your benefit Shiki-san, I blocked his ability to use illusion spells by keeping you from seeing him. You can still sense him can't you? It's time to finish him." _Kage's voice answered in his head, it wasn't particularly in the plan but the noble would deal with it considering he didn't have much of a choice.

'A warning would have been nice.' he commented to the blade in minor annoyance as he pinpointed the hunter ahead of him. Hunter senses weren't as good as noble, giving Shiki the luxury of getting close to his target without being noticed.

"What should I do? We can't see Shiki but I don't want to leave Zero without his soul much longer." Cross asked, looking between Touga and Kaito for an answer.

"We'll have to trust Shiki to finish the job and just go for it. We're risking too much if we wait." Kaito responded, they were running out of time and didn't have much choice. Seiren nodded, taking a breath before she made the last cut. The dark essence snapped away from Zero's soul, Cross stepped in and cupped it protectively in his hands as the essence began to move around the room feverishly increasing its speed until papers began flying off Cross' desk and a physical wind could be felt blowing through the room. Cross shielded the soul in his possession, feeling magic buzz with life in his own was electric with power. Carefully he brought it back to Zero's body, still being supported by Touga and now Kaito's magic. Giving the two a nod they hesitantly pulled away and cut off their support slowly as the soul was eased back into its rightful position. As it settled Bloody Rose reacted, encasing her owner in gentle vines as she created a protective shield around him. The essence, in response, angrily sparked before breaking out through the window into the fog below them. Kaito and Sieren watched as it exploded in lights and a deep purple fire, a series of pops and cracks went off before things settled into silence. The fog soon cleared, revealing Shiki and the body of Usaki Iori a few feet apart. Shiki glanced up at the window and gave the two a nod before heading for the door of the sun dorms.

"I guess that means it's over..." the elite hunter sighed, feeling Seiren's hand take his own in relief and comfort.

"I feel as though I should be more relieved than I am?" she questioned quietly, emotion was still very confusing at times and she wasn't sure what the feeling in the room was.

"Yes, well, things won't feel over until he wakes back up. That's the only way we know if it worked or not, if we made the right decision. What you're probably feeling is unsatisfactory relief..." Kaito replied as Shiki walked back in the room, Kage had already disappeared once again.

"Now we wait." it was stated instead of asked but the noble sounded uncertain as his eyes laid on the casket of rose vines that encased his lover's sleeping body. They didn't know how long it would take, there was an unvoiced weight that hung between the group as they carefully moved him back into his room to be watched over by the nobles in the moon dorms. Not even Aido made a sound as he watched the group settle him, Cross and Touga leaving soon after. Takuma eventually ushered the others out of the room, leaving Shiki and Kaito to themselves. If anyone could aid the noble it was him right now and the blond didn't doubt the elite hunter could use some assurance himself. Their connection to Zero spoke volumes in their auras as he left for the common room.

"We didn't do anything wrong, he and the rest of us are safe. He's going to be alright." Kaito eventually spoke, breaking the tension. Shiki sighed, shoulders slumping with exhaustion, he took a seat next to Zero's body and stared blankly. "You have to trust us, and him." he continued though he wasn't sure which of them he was trying to convince.

"I feel as though part of me died...lifeless and numb...blank." the noble eventually mumbled out slowly, the energy he had vanished and cast a fog over his mind in its absence.

"We call that depression. I won't lie to you, Shiki, this isn't going to be easy. He is your bonded partner but...we don't know what will happen. Are you prepared for whatever is to come of this?" the air became serious, the hunter needed to know if he was stable enough to get through this and be there for Zero when it was over. Shiki opened his mouth to respond but closed it again in thought. If he was honest he wasn't sure, his chest ached with a pain he never had every time he looked at the place his partner's face should be. He had to see those eyes open again.

"I will be...I need to be. He's not dead." there it was, the word all of them had been avoiding for fear it would end up fate. They didn't know if Zero would live through it, it was possible he was already gone but Shiki could still feel a soft buzz from their bond. He wasn't dead, he _wasn't. _As long as Shiki could feel him he would stay beside his lover. He would wait and live, he would continue to work alongside Takuma to fix the hole his cousin left in the vampire community. He couldn't and wouldn't feel alive until Zero woke, but he had lived without him before and would live for him until they were together.

Takuma's smile faded as he approached the academy, he and the other nobles had long moved out. All but one that continued to occupy the halls of the moon dorms like a ghost bound to the very walls. It had been eight years since they left, moving on in the world and pursuing their own passions ever since the Shirabuki clan claimed the throne in the Kuran's wake. Takuma worked as her advisor usually but she had so many he was often allowed to do as he wished. Periodically he would come and check in on Shiki, but even that became too difficult to emotionally handle after the sixth year. To the noble's credit, he wasn't technically insane though many viewed him as such after the rumors spread. He rarely left the academy. He was the only occupant of the moon dorms but the school continued to thrive. "I'll be done in a few hours, you don't need to wait." he told his driver as he exited the vehicle and began a familiar walk to the moon dorms. A soft knock was all it took before the door opened for him. Nothing physical had changed about his once best friend, but Takuma knew better than that. "Hello, Shiki, how have you been?" he didn't smile but Shiki didn't expect him to. Instead, the younger nodded and opened the door to let the blond inside.

"The entirety of the vampire community thinks I'm as insane as Kaname became." came the flat reply as the two sat opposite of each other in the common room.

"Shiki, you haven't left the academy in nearly eight years, don't you think it's time you moved on in the world? Zero wouldn't have wanted you to live like this and neither do the rest of us. I haven't completely convinced Sara but if you came back and explained-" Takuma could only get so far before Shiki sent him a hard glare, a trait adopted from the silverette once Zero had begun to show him how to express himself physically. Even though such a thing was a risk among vampires Shiki knew he wouldn't mind around Zero. The silverette was always so expressive, he knew how to control a crowd with a look.

"I'm not leaving, I made a promise to him, to Kaito-san and to myself that I would stay here until he wakes up or until I know he's gone I'm not going to break that promise even if I'm assumed insane, besides, Shirabuki-sama doesn't need the extra baggage in the community. My place is here now, Takuma, until proven otherwise." the emerald-eyed noble had never heard an emotion so strong from another vampire much less a noble. He supposed that even if he didn't see it as healthy Shiki was still able to live and progress without intervening in the lives of others. He wasn't hurting anyone but the blond was still worried, Shiki had quit modeling nearly a year ago and most of the community hadn't seen him since.

"You don't know if he's going to wake up. I miss him too, Kaito-san does, hell Touga-san _died _missing him. But we can't hold onto something that we may have already lost. How long are you going to keep yourself here in mourning?" Takuma pressed, even if Shiki was alright and happy living such a lonesome lifestyle it wasn't right for a noble. Vampires weren't creatures that strayed too far from the community.

"I'm not mourning, I'm just waiting..." Shiki corrected gently but the blond's constant insinuation that his lover was dead was beginning to get on his nerves. Takuma sighed, knowing this was starting to go down a very sour path that he didn't have the energy for, he would drop the topic for now.

"Alright, alright, well the least I can do is get you outside and treat you to a meal. It won't take long, I promise, but you need to leave the dorms at least a couple times in a month. Besides, I'm sure your food stock has been getting low. Is that alright with you?" maybe if he could get him out in the world it would remind Shiki that there was life outside these walls. Cyan eyes studied his own in silence for what felt like a century before the younger nodded and went to grab the key to the dorms.

The air felt nice, light and easy as they walked outside the school gates and headed toward town, he supposed he should feel a sense of relief upon exiting the normally heavy air of the academy but no such feeling came. The world felt stagnant, like a forgotten lake that just collected bugs and propelled a small ecosystem but had no real reason to exist. They were there because they could be but nothing about the trip was significant. There was no small talk, everything that needed to be said already had been and vampires didn't deal with casual conversation. "Tell me, Takuma, won't the community still see me as crazy regardless if he wakes or not? The only opinions I could change would be yours and maybe Rima's. Kaito would come back without question as would Seiren because they were involved but...outside of that we don't matter to the community anymore." he eventually began, and it was true, opinions didn't easily change. It took nearly twelve years for the night class's opinion of Zero to change in the beginning, for Shiki it would be an even larger challenge with how things turned out. Truthfully the blond didn't know if it was possible to make that change or if it would be worth it to either of them.

"My opinion of you hasn't changed, nor has Rima's to the extent of my knowledge, she still hopes that you will walk back into the studio with her one day. She just...she gave up on reaching out to you." Takuma attempted to explain, causing Shiki to scoff.

"She believes I'm obsessive, you see me as an emotional burden to take on, you can't tell me that's not the very definition of a changed opinion. All of you stopped reaching out, all of you but Cross left. You didn't want to be there through the hard times because it wasn't beneficial to your reputations or image. You had placed in the community, still do, I was disowned as soon as I got with Zero and I wasn't going to have a place to speak considering both my father and cousin went crazy. Zero is the only thing I have, the only reason I'm still going. I wasn't ever going to live like the rest of you." the subtle jabs stung a bit more coming from Shiki, forcing him to recognize that he hadn't thought of the baggage Shiki already carried being the son of Kuran Rido as it was. While he and Rima made sure it was never brought into focus when other nobles or purebloods were present they couldn't protect him from the harsh criticism that was spread behind his back.

"I'm sorry, I never wanted...I never wanted you to be alone because of your father's reputation. The community should've been more considerate." he wasn't sure what else to say, Shiki never expressed that his father's unfortunate legacy had been looming over him even if Takuma assumed it did. He wasn't careful enough, no, he was careless. Pushing Shiki into his circle instead of letting his best friend move through the world at his own pace. Shiki was a follower in comparison to him and his cousin but that was possibly because he wasn't given the chance to lead. 'Until Zero that is.' the noble internally sighed but couldn't help the sudden smile that broke out honestly for the first time in a while. "But you're not alone."

"I'm not. Especially not now." Shiki agreed, putting down his cup of tea with sudden uncharacteristic energy flowing through his formally dull eyes. Takuma tilted his head a little in question. "I can feel him, our bond is alive, Zero woke up."

"Go, let me know how he's doing." he didn't need to tell Shiki to go, the ashen-brown haired noble wasn't going to waste time returning home, but before he sped out the door faster than a human eye could catch he paused and turned to his friend.

"Thank you, Takuma." it was quiet, in typical Shiki fashion, but his eyes spoke volumes before he turned and vanished. All Takuma could do was chuckle to himself as he pulled out his phone to call his driver for a ride. He didn't need to worry about Shiki anymore.

Shiki didn't even notice the wind as he ran back to the school, pausing just before he could open the door to the dorms to collect his racing thoughts. Would Zero remember him? What would it be like from here on out? There were so many questions flooding through him at lightning speed, the answers were all behind the door but for some reason he couldn't turn the handle. Was he afraid? Yes, he was afraid, not a common feeling for a vampire let alone Shiki. It was a different fear than when he had to face his father. He felt shaky, as though his body couldn't hold him up. 'Stop, this is Zero, no matter what happened he is still Zero. We're still bonded. He would say you're acting stupid and tell you to open the damn door.' the sound of his partner's voice, even if it was only in his head, made him smile a bit and calmed his nerves enough to open the door and quickly make his way to their shared room. Zero was asleep it seemed, the vines had vanished leaving Bloody Rose lying by his side but the most notable change was the feeling of the academy itself. As though the grounds had been purified, Shiki couldn't explain why he felt so light and alive. Nothing felt heavy, it didn't feel necessary to process real thought as he strode onto their balcony and stared into the sky. He had forgotten what it felt like to live. The sound of movement from their bed made Shiki turn to watch as a delicate hand moved slowly, stretching unused joints before it rested back at the hunter's side. A soft moan of discomfort sounded, prompting the noble to take up a seat on the bed beside his waking lover. Taking Zero's hand in his own for the first time in eight years, a spark of electricity pulsing through his own body at the contact almost made him jump. Brushing away some of the strands of hair that fell in Zero's face as he checked the rest of the silverette's vitals. Even though nothing had physically changed there was still a small possibility of something going wrong.

"You worry too much." though tired, and sore, the sound of his partner's voice snapped Shiki out of a momentary daze. Hardly registering the comment he helped the hunter sit up and watched him stretch out his arms and back.

"It's a good thing you're not human, otherwise your body would have shut down." he eventually spoke, "How do you feel?"

"Tired, but fine otherwise as far as I can tell. How about you, obviously you lived but...you didn't get hurt did you?" worry passed through lilac-amethyst like a wave as they trailed up and down Shiki's body. Even though he knew nothing physical would be found by now, it was habit to check over his partner.

"No, Kage-san is a good partner on the field and it's not like it was just me. Everyone made sure things went according to plan. So...I suppose the real question is did it work...you woke up which I assume means yes." Shiki assured, realizing it was possible Zero didn't know how long he had been asleep for he nervously bit his lip. "You've been sealed in here for eight years. A lot has changed..." he mumbled wincing when Zero's eyes went wide in surprise.

"Don't tell me you spent eight years here by yourself..." shock and regret surged through Zero's body at the thought of leaving his bond mate deprived for that long. While he had no control over the time it took, he couldn't help but feel for his partner. "Shiki...why the hell did you stay here?"

"I made a promise, to Kaito-san and myself but more importantly to you. I told you I would stay. Even if the world evolved and people hate me or think it was caused by insanity...I wasn't alone because you were here. I could feel you, as long as you were alive I'd stay. Besides, in a vampire's life, eight years is still very short." the noble explained shamelessly, he didn't care if Zero was mad at him or thought he was stupid for sicking around when everyone else had moved on. He was going to see the process through.

"You deprived yourself for eight fucking years, what if our bond broke?! What if you hurt yourself?! Anyone sensible would have moved on!" lilac flashed crimson but it wasn't from anger, he was scared. Scared that Shiki had been hurt, scared that their bond had faltered. Instead of fighting with the hunter Shiki grabbed Zero's hand and pressed it against his neck where the mark of Zero's clan had taken refuge.

"Do you feel it?" a gentle pulse eased the silverette's adrenaline rush as his hand was held to the mark firmly. A rush of warmth with each beat pulled at them. Zero numbly nodded, allowing the sensation to fill his mind and erase any real thought. "Our bond kept me going, I was never alone, I never felt deprived, I missed you but I wasn't about to turn my back just because you weren't awake. Do you understand, Zero? I am not leaving." another numb nod was all he received as the hunter was continuously lulled.

"You must be hungry though..." came the eventual statement, he didn't give Shiki a chance to protest as he bit his lip a little harder than necessary. Blood pooled just enough for cyan eyes to fade away revealing the hungry wine behind. A short whimper of attempted restraint soon gave way to hungry nips at the already healed area. Pushing the noble's head down to his neck with little effort Zero managed to keep in the short gasp of pain as fangs pierced through the skin. As soon as his partner began to suck however his eyes nearly rolled back, though a moan was audible neither vampire knew who it came from. Lost in a haze as the smell of blood filled the room.

**A/N: **Thank you all for reading, I know this wasn't a hugely impactful chapter but I wanted to make sure I let some time pass and for things to come together about how I'm going to finish this fic off. So, with that being said, chapter sixteen looks like it will be our final chapter! I'll get all sappy when the time arrives but I still want to thank everyone who has come on this story-journey with me and to all of you that have reviewed and left well wishes for me. I hope some of you return for the next fic I work on, whichever it may be. As mentioned in the beginning, if you haven't checked out the VK In-progress vault of mine please do so and let me know what you want to see next. It's always growing, so I'll always be writing. Have a wonderful night, day, evening, or whatever time slot you're in and always keep writing, keep reading, and live creative. ~Len


End file.
